To Dance
by DrainBamage
Summary: As the Yule Ball approaches, Harry is confronted with some interesting problems, who to go with, dancing lessons, an overly affectionate Hufflepuff, and since when did Malfoy start acting so strange?
1. To Shock

Chapter 1: To Shock

"Harry!" Hermione yelled as she ran over the dark haired boy. He looked up, sparkling green eyes widening behind his thin round glasses. Seeing his friend rushing up to him, he sighed and rubbed a callused hand through his messy hair.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry sighed as his obviously excited friend flopped down next to him on the couch, positively beaming about something as she bounced slightly on the cushions. "What is it?"

She grinned at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "They put up notices about the Yule Ball today." Harry stared at her, wondering what this 'Yule Ball' was. She misread his look and grinned wider. "Anyone asked you yet?"

Harry jerked away from her. "Wha- what!" he spluttered at her. "What are you on about? What is the Yule Ball? And what would somebody ask me?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "You don't know?" The look on Harry's face must have convinced her. She began to giggle. "Oh Harry! This is too good!" Harry was getting increasingly annoyed at being left out. Some of the other students in the Gryffindor Common Room turned to look at them with curious eyes and Harry felt himself flush in embarrassment. "Harry, you're a champion!"

"That doesn't mean I know about everything!" Harry snapped, losing his cool for a moment.

Hermione quieted down, though still giggling slightly, and simply pulled a flier from her bag. She smiled and handed it to Harry who looked it over. Realization dawned on him like an execution date. "No," he breathed. Hermione seemed to find his reaction tremendously funny as she burst out laughing and fell back onto the couch, clutching her stomach as tears of mirth rolled down her face.

All the blood drained from Harry's face as he looked the paper over again and again. There was no way that he was going to go to this stupid dance to parade around in those dress robes Mrs. Weasley had picked out for him. No way in Hell was he going to go out in front of the school to waltz around stupidly.

"I'm not going," Harry said, setting his face in a determined look and leaning back into the couch, crossing his arms as he glared at his laughing friend.

"You don't have a choice," Hermione giggled. "The champions open the ball with their dates-"

"WHAT!" Harry screeched, jolting up from the couch to stare down at Hermione who had burst into laughter again. "What! D-dates! No way! No way in Hell am I-"

"You have to!" Hermione interrupted him, grabbing onto his hand as she tried to compose herself, though still giggling madly. "You have to go and do it! It's your duty as Hogwarts champion to represent your school. You have to do it."

Harry knew Hermione was right. Reading the flier she had given him had told him that he had to do it, no matter what. Feeling completely hopeless and drained, Harry slumped back onto the couch. But it seemed Hermione wasn't done with torturing him yet.

"So, thought of anyone to ask?" asked Hermione, practically leering at him.

With a very annoyed yell, Harry threw up his arms in frustration and stormed off in the direction of the boy's dormitories. Hermione smirked as his retreating back. "You'll get them tomorrow," she said to herself. "Tomorrow, you wont know what hit you. They'll come in flocks to get The Boy Who Lived."


	2. To Argue

Chapter 2: To Argue

Harry stared at the girl in front of him. She was hanging her head and looked postively terrified as she shook slightly in front of him, her hands fidgiting in front on her anxiously.

"Er," said Harry, completely at a loss. "Sorry, but, um-"

Harry hadn't even completed a coherent sentence before the girl let out a sob and sprinted off down the coridor, positvely wailing. Harry stood in shock as he watched the girl leave him in complete confusion.

"Well done mate," Ron said, clapping a hand on his best friend's shoulder, also watching the girl run away. "You draw them in one moment and the next they're fleeing. Bloody brilliant."

Harry scowled at him, finally returning from his state of shock. "You know, I've never been very good around girls," he said dryly.

"What am I then?" Hermione snapped, smacking her hands to her hips and pouting at Harry. "A bear?"

"No," said Harry, grinning at her. "You're just not insane. And you don't spaz about every little thing."

Ron burst into laughter as Hermione huffed irritably. Behind him, Harry heard somebody snicker. Turning around he came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"Potter," Malfoy sneered at him, a faint smirk playing about his lips. Harry glared at him. If looks could kill, the blond would have been dead on the spot.

"What do you want, Malfoy," Harry spat at him, determined not to start a fight eventhough every fiber in him was flaring, wanting to lash out at Malfoy in any way possible.

"Nothing," the blond said cooly, drawing back slightly and crossing his arms over his chest, smirking at Harry. "I'm just enjoying watching you torment little third years. Honestly, I never would have put you as one who would do that."

Harry actually growled at Malfoy's words. The blond's silvery eyes widened slightly before snapping back into their usual cool stare. "Shove off, Malfoy," Harry spat as he raised his hand toward the boy. Malfoy's eyes widened again, this time staying wide at Harry's actions. Doing something like punching or smacking Malfoy seemed to be the most inviting things that Harry wanted to do, but seeing as they were liable to be caught by a teacher if anything happened, Harry managed to surprise even himself as he simply raised his hand to Malfoy's face and flicked him lightly right in the center of his pale forehead.

Malfoy flinched slightly as Harry's fingers hit his head lightly before his mask of usual calm dropped completely and he stared at Harry in complete disbelief, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"I'll pay you back for that comment later," Harry said, voice laced with anger at the boy in front of him. "When there aren't as many teachers to stop me." Malfoy just continued to stare at the Gryffindor.

Harry snapped around and began to stalk down the corridor away from Malfoy, Ron and Hermione scurrying to catch up to him.


	3. To Discover

Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed. I'm really pleased to hear you enjoyed the story! XD

I realized I forgot to put the disclaimer on the previous chapter! (Oops!)

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Harry Potter. All that belongs to J.K. Rowling. She's the one that started this. **

Chapter 3: To Discover

"What the Hell was that?" Ron asked in complete surprise as he walked along side Harry, face turned completely to the dark haired boy.

"I didn't want a full out brawl, alright," Harry snapped, not looking at Ron as he continued to stomp to Charms.

"Yea, but-"

"Shut up!" Harry yelled, whirling on him, green eyes glowing furiously. He still felt all his pent up anger and frustration from seeing Malfoy coursing through him and Ron's comments weren't helping his mood.

Ron shrank away from Harry and Hermione gasped in surprise. A few other students around them stopped and stared at the fuming champion. A few of the girls whispered behind their hands, eyes fixed on Harry as he practically radiated anger.

"Harry, what's wrong?" a familiar deep voice said from behind Harry and he whipped around to face the speaker, his anger fading slightly, though still pulsing strong. Cedric Diggory stood in front of him, looking perfect as usual. He smiled down at Harry, who felt his anger receed from him slowly. When he was finally under control of himself again, Harry sighed and smiled weakly at his fellow champion. Cedric's smile widened. "I wonder if I might have a word," the older boy asked, and took Harry's arm gently.

Slightly shocked by Cedric's gesture, Harry glanced at his arm in shock for a second before he was led away by the Hufflepuff toward an empty corridor. Whispers followed him and Ron and Hermione stared in disbelief as their best friend was taken from them by the seventh year.

Harry followed Cedric in silence for a while before he was pulled into an empty classroom. As the door slammed shut Harry became aware that Cedric was still holding onto his arm. Looking down at Cedric's gripping hand and back up to Cedric, Harry tried to silently convey the fact to the other student. Cedric smiled, seeming to understand, but didn't let go, instead pulling Harry towards him. Completely startled by this and being somewhat awkward with his arm being wrenched away, Harry yelped and, tripping over his own feet in haste, stumbled into Cedric. He heard Cedric laugh softly as he felt the strong vibrations in the chest his head was now pressed against. He gave another startled squeak when his arms was released, only to find that two arms were wrapping around his small frame possessively.

"Cedric! Wha-" Harry started to say in complete shock.

"Will you go to the ball with me, Harry?" Cedric murmured, bending his head low to Harry's ear and Harry felt Cedric's chest hum as he spoke. Shivering slightly from the close contact.

"I- what! You want- what?" Harry spluttered, trying to draw politely away from the seventh year holding him protectively.

Cedric laughed softly again and brought his head lower so that his mouth was right next to Harry's ear, which made the younger boy shiver slightly. "I want you to go to the Yule Ball with me, Harry," Cedric purred, his lips brushing against the shell of Harry's ear. "I want you to be my date."

Harry managed to push himself away from Cedric's chest slightly and looked up to find his face inches from the other boy's. He blushed deeply, feeling his face flare in heat at the lack of space between them. "Why?" he asked, completely at a loss of what to say.

Cedric smiled and rested his forehead against Harry's so that their noses nearly brushed. He closed his eyes and sighed, arms pulling Harry toward him again. "Because I love you. When I met you in Quidditch last year, I knew immediately I liked you. And since we have been in this tournament, I just fell, completely head over heels, for you. You're perfect," he whispered, opening his stormy gray eyes to gaze into Harry's emerald orbs. A light smile played about his lips as he continued to pull Harry to him.

Harry felt like his face was on fire due to excessive blushing. "Cedric, I-" Harry tried to speak but was stopped in midsentence when the other boy lightly brushed his lips against Harry's, making the Gryffindor freeze, eyes wide, and completely at a loss of words.

"Was that a yes?" Cedric cooed at the boy in his arms, smiling kindly down into Harry's eyes. "You'll go with me? I had hoped so." Without allowing Harry to respond, the brunett kissed Harry again, more passionately this time.

Harry's mind was fogged, his eyes glazed over slightly as he continued to stare at the boy currently kissing him. He wanted to push Cedric away and ask him what he was doing? Harry felt his body grow warm and his eyes fluttered shut as he melted into Cedric's mouth. When Cedric finally pulled away and the feeling from the kiss slowly receeded, Harry's mind slowly came back to him, his body still hot and face flushed from the contact. He looked up at the boy holding him and felt a slight tug in his stomach, and he knew this wasn't right. Cedric's smile faltered when he saw the look on Harry's face.

"What's wrong? Too fast?" asked Cedric, pulling back slightly to look questioningly into Harry's face, his gray eyes searching for the cause of Harry's discomfort.

Harry shook his head and pushed at Cedric's chest, the brunett finally letting him go somewhat, though still keeping his hands on Harry's arms. "I'm really sorry," Harry breathed, lowering his eyes and he felt Cedric's hands stiffen on his arms. "I'm really sorry Cedric, it's just that, I dunno." He paused and looked up at Cedric, whose face, which had been glowing in happiness moments before, had fallen and he was looking at Harry in apprehension. Harry had no idea how to explain what he felt.

"You-" Cedric steadied his voice by swallowing and taking a deep breath. "You don't want to... That wasn't a yes?"

Without a word, Cedric shook his head and swiftly pushed past Harry, swiftly leaving the classroom. Harry watched him go, his stomach twisting horribly at seeing someone so hurt, because of him. Another person hurt because of him. Harry sighed and shuffled from the room.

Suddenly Harry's thoughts caught up with him and began to race around his head, as if playing an ultimate game of tag. He had just been asked to the ball, and said no. On top of that he has just has his first kiss. Wait. He had just been kissed. By Cedric Diggory. Cedric Diggory was a boy. Harry was a boy. Harry stood frozen. He had just been asked to the Yule Ball and been kissed. By a boy. And, Harry thought for a moment, it hadn't been all that weird.

Harry's mouth opened slightly. What did this mean? What had just happened? Then Cedric's face floated back into Harry's mind, his words ringing in Harry's ears. 'That wasn't a yes?'

Harry groaned. _Great,_ he thought. _I've managed to hurt another person. What is wrong with me._ He sighed and hung his head. _And on top of that, he's a boy!_ Harry's mind was still having difficulty adjusting to this new concept.

Shaking his head vigorously and groaning, Harry hurried from the empty classroom feeling confused and agitated.


	4. To Crack

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter. I never had and I never will unless J.K Rowling wants to be charitable and write it over to me. No? Alright. **

Chapter 4: To Crack

"Harry. Come on, tell us what's wrong."

Harry glanced up across the table at Hermione's face and felt his stomach twist again. She and Ron had been pestering him, along with the rest of the Weasley's and some of the other Gryffindor's all dinner, trying to figure out why he was so depressed and down since he had talked with Cedric.

Hermione, obviously suddlenly feeling very brave, leaned over her plate towards Harry and said softly, "Is it Cedric? Did something happen between you two when he pulled you aside?"

Throwing up his arms in an exasperation, Harry groaned and flopped face first onto the table. Fortuntely, he hadn't been hungry when he had come to dinner, for obvious reasons, and so he hadn't put anything onto his plate. However, this did mean that flinging himself face first onto the table meant banging his nose painfully against his plate. Harry moaned in pain and raised himself slightly to rub at his nose before letting his head fall to the table again, this time landing on his chin, somewhat painfully, but at least his nose wasn't hurting again. His new position also allowed him to look straight at Hermione. Whimpering, he turned his face back to his place, giving Hermione a superb view of the top of his disheveled black hair.

Hermione huffed in annoyance, and crossed her arms. "You're impossible, you know that?" she scolded. "Such a moody boy this year. I don't know how we put up with you. You and your hormones. I'm just trying to help you with whatever it is that's eating away at you."

Harry raised his head enough to glare at Hermione for a full minute, getting a glare equal to his right back. Still glaring at her, he got up, snatched up his school bag, and stood defiantly in the Great Hall. "I'm going to bed," he spat, whether at her or everyone currently staring at him, he didn't know and didn't care.

Just as he was turning to leave, Harry's eyes flitted over to the Hufflepuff table and he saw Cedric poking at his food. Sighing, Harry walked out of the hall and leaned against the cool stone wall, closing his eyes and letting the back of his head rest gently against the rock. He let his school bag slip carelessly to the floor where it thudded dully, save for a light smashing sound, like breaking glass.

"Shit," Harry muttered, opening his eyes and looking down at his bag. Black ink was seeping out of the bottom. Obviously one of his ink wells has cracked when he had dropped the bag on the floor. Grumbling to himself, Harry bent down to try to save his books and parchment from the black liquid. He was just pulling out his Transfiguration book when he heard swift foot steps nearing him.

Looking up he saw Professor McGonagall sweeping towards him, her face the darkest he had ever seen it as of yet. Seeing him, she stopped and evaluated the scene before her. "Potter," she snapped. "I'd like a word."

"You're the second one today to ask that question," Harry mumbled, his mind flashing back to Cedric as his stomach chruned guiltiy, as he picked himself from the ground and left his ink splattered bag to pool on the floor. He'd ask Hermione for help later. But then, he wasn't talking to her. Harry scowled as he wondered why everything had to be so difficult for him today. He turned to face McGonagall and flinched at the intensity of her piercing eyes.

"You, Potter, being one of the Hogwarts champions, ought to now know about the Yule Ball," Professor McGonagall said curtly. Harry nodded reluctantly. "You should also be aware that you and your date will be opening the dance." Harry nodded again, remembering Hermione's words from earlier that day. "You should also know that for the next week all the boys and girls participating in the ball are to be taught dancing in the evenings."

"What!" Harry blurted out, staring up at his professor in disbelief. "Dancing lessons?"

"Yes, Potter," McGonagall snapped, glaring at Harry. "Dancing lessons, which will be taught by Mr. Moody and myself. The boys and girls learn separately, to keep you all from being distracted." The Transfiguration teacher was obviously not very happy with the idea of having to teach the Hogwarts boys and girls how to dance. "I am posting a message on the Houses Bulletin boards later tonight but I felt that you, being one of the champions, ought to know. I was just on my way to alert Diggory as well."

"Oh," was all that Harry could manage to say.

"I'll let you get back to your bag then," McGonagall said swiftly, before turning and stalking into the Great Hall in the direction of the Hufflepuff table.

Harry sighed and went back to his inky bag on the floor. "Bloody brilliant," he scoffed to thin air, roughly grabbing things from his bag and surveying the damage the ink had done. Shoving his hand angrily into the bag, a shard from the broken ink well stabbed into his palm painfully and he hissed, quickly drawing his hand to his chest. He harshly pulled the glass shard from his hand, which began to bleed freely as the deep cut began to throb. "Bloody hell, this is just the worst day yet!" Harry spat angrily as he threw the shard across the floor.

The glass piece skidded across the floor, clinking lightly, before it bounced against someone's foot and was sent spinning to rest a few feet away. Harry looked up to see who had stopped the glass' progress and met cool silver eyes. Draco Malfoy bent down, his eyes flickering from Harry's for a second as he picked up the piece of glass before they rose to meet Harry's emerald gaze again.

"Is this supposed to be my Christmas present, Potter?" Malfoy asked, holding up the shard carefully and cocking an eyebrow at Harry.

Harry growled from the floor, still cradling his bleeding hand slightly, as he glared angrily at Malfoy. The blond smirked and pocketed the glass, taking a step towards the Gryffindor. Harry growled again and Malfoy paused, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"You do realize that I am alone," Malfoy said loftily, shaking silky blond hair from his eyes as he surveyed Harry. "No big thugs to flank my sides. Just me." His eyes suddenly darkened and his eyebrow furrowed. He was looking at Harry's bleeding hand and began to walk swiftly over to him. "You're bleeding."

Harry stood up and rose to his full height, glaring at Malfoy. The other boy stopped in his tracks and scoffed, tossing his head again to clear his eyes of bright blond hair. "Thank you Captain Obvious. Anything else you want to share?" Harry spat. He was still annoyed from the days events and hadn't forgotten his vow to fight with the blond. "Unless you want the living shit beaten out of you, I suggest you leave. Now."

Malfoy smirked at him, his blond bangs falling into his eyes again, hiding his silvery pools slightly. "Thanks for the present," he sneered as he strode proudly into the Great Hall, casting Harry a small smirk before he disappeared from the raven's sight.

Harry grumbled to himself as he muttered a quick cleaning spell over his bag and started to shove things back inside. "Bloody git," he spat, the image of Malfoy's pale face drifting in front of Harry's eyes. His hand thobbed again and Harry winced in pain. He'd go up to the Hospital Wing later. Right now, all he wanted to do was go to bed and just try to sort out what had happened that day.


	5. To Contemplate

**Disclaimer: ****I have a feeling I'm going to get tired of writing this after a while but, I do not own Harry Potter or anything, though I do own the audiobooks, hard covers, and Quidditch Goggles. Not enough? Thought so. **

Please enjoy!

Chapter 5: To Contemplate

Harry had sorted through a lot as he had lain on his bed, walked up to the Hospital Wing and back, and now felt that he had most things under control and in perspective. As he lay on his back on his four-poster bed, his now bandaged hand lying gently on his stomach, he went over the events of the day once more to make sure he hadn't left anything out that would ruin his current thoughts.

The first thing that registered was that he had discovered, thanks to Cedric, that he was not as straight as he had originally believed. It was, perhaps, the most interesting thing he had learned about himself since when Hagrid had burst down the door of that little sea shack and told him he was a wizard. He smiled, fondly recalling the memory. So, he was gay, or bi. He didn't know if he had totally given up on the opposite sex, but today with Cedric had certainly made things interesting.

The second thing on Harry's mind was Cedric. He knew that he liked Cedric as a person, admired him even, but knew that he didn't love him. The tugging at his heart and insides when Cedric had held at him had told him no, he didn't feel about the Hufflepuff the way Cedric did about him. He was worried about the boy as well. Judging from the reaction he gave when Harry delivered his rejection, Cedric was not recovering well from it. This worried Harry, and even more, the fact that he could do nothing to comfort him, seeing as he was the one who had started this whole mess. He felt so incredibly guilty about the boy's sadness that it was almost creating a dull ache in his stomach.

The third thing was why had Cedric come onto him so strongly? Did he just radiate 'I'm a GAY BOY' vibes and not realize it. He hadn't even realized he was gay until being with Cedric, so why had Cedric done what he had. Harry furrowed his brow, remembering it. He supposed it was because, logically, if he fell for a guy, he would do everything he could to try to be accepted. The fact of whether he was straight or not was just a matter of being loved back, or even being accepted. Realizing this, Harry completely understood Cedric's actions. If the other boy liked him that much, he wouldn't have cared about Harry's sexual preferences and just done what he could to be accepted by him. It made sense.

The fourth thing that was bothering Harry, which was what pretty much always bothered him, was Malfoy. But instead of the usual plague he always was, recently he had been somewhat kinder, in his own Malfoy way, to Harry. Even tonight was evidence of it. He hadn't done anything to harm him, really insult him, or basically annoy the hell out of him. He had even almost shown compassion or concern when seeing Harry's hand. Harry didn't know the reason for this change in character, but he knew it was there.

The final thing plagueing Harry's mind was this stupid Yule Ball. Not only was he supposed to get a date, but also dance and lead the whole thing. He groaned and rolled over onto his side, feeling somewhat tired. Sitting up and rubbing his uninjured hand through his unruly hair, Harry decided that sleep was an excellent solution for all of his thoughts. Sighing, he stood up and changed into his warm flannel pajama pants. Feeling slightly warm and deciding on not wearing a shirt for the night, Harry climbed into bed and lay back, letting his body sink into the bed comfortably.

The thoughts of the Yule Ball and dancing didn't seem to want to leave Harry however, and they dragged back into his mind obnoxiously. This whole dance lessons thing was going to provide difficulties. Firstly, now that he knew he was gay, or bi, or just liked men, now he was going to have to figure out how to deal with his dance partners, considering McGonagall had said the boys and girls would be learning separately, meaning he would be learning with other boys.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. On top of that he had to find a date. Whether it be a boy or a girl now really presented a problem. If he went with a girl, he might end up not having much fun, because all girls except for Hermione were complete flirts who just giggled and complained about their weight. Going with a boy meant that he would be announcing to the entire school he was interested in boys though, which would probably make Rita Skeeter's quick quotes quill explode in excitement. He was more likely to have fun if he went with a boy though. He understood guys, seeing as he was one.

Harry moaned and rolled over, staring out the window at the faint fall of snow which was drifting lazily past the window. Loud banging footsteps sounded right outside the dormitory door and a moment later Ron burst in.

"Harry!" the red headed Weasley shouted, walking over to Harry's bed and sitting down next to his best friend.

"What?" Harry said, slightly cross, rolling over to look at Ron.

"Come on, mate," Ron said, looking at Harry in concern. "Tell me what's got you all hot and bothered. I mean, honestly, you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend." He smiled weakly.

Harry stared at Ron. "Anything?"

"Anything," Ron repeated, still smiling.

"Ok," sighed Harry. "Don't say I didn't warn you. This is pretty weird, even by my standards. Any rather new. I still don't know how to deal with all of it and I'm just getting it all figured out."

"Harry, spill already," Ron said, laughing slightly.

Harry sat up, his sheets sliding off his bare chest, as he rested his back against the bed's headboard. "I got asked to the Yule Ball today-"

"-I know I was there-"

"-And I found out I'm interested in men."

Ron stared at him, face frozen in a mix of surprise and amusement. Suddently he burst out laughing, falling back onto Harry's bed as fits of laughter swept him away.

"Shut up!" Harry yelled, his face heating and he knew he was blushing furiously. Trying to keep at least some dignity to his name, Harry reached out and smacked Ron on the shoulder. "You bastard! I tell you my secrets and you laugh at me!"

Ron sat up, still laughing slightly. "Sorry mate," he said, between a chortle. "It's just... unexpected, you know. So, how'd you find out? Who was it that asked you? I mean, we saw the girl, but I am guessing that's not who you're referring to."

Harry averted his eyes, trying to look at anything besides Ron. "It wasn't the girl." He sighed and leaned back into the headboard again, letting his head fall back to rest on the hard mahogany. "You know when Cedric came up and said he wanted a word?"

"Oh my God!" Ron said in disbelief, staring at Harry, captivated by the shocking news. "Diggory asked you to the Ball? No way! What'd you say?"

Harry lifted his head and stared at his friend. This wasn't the reaction he had expected at all. He had expected Ron to stutter and go all red and become extremely uncomfortable. This cool and interested Ron was a bit odd.

Ron noticed Harry's look and smiled. "Surprised I'm not freaked?" Harry nodded. Ron chuckled. "It's not too weird for me really. Charlie told us a few years ago that he was gay. He's brought his boyfriend home once or twice, and I'm used to it. Bill claims he bi but I think that means he's not sure. So go on, tell me what happened."

Harry continued to stare at Ron. "What about you then?" he finally asked. Ron snorted.

"I'm straight, at least, for the most part. I mean, I suppose I might be bi, but I mainly go for the girls."

"Oh."

"So," Ron looked at him expectantly.

Harry sighed. "Well, he led me away to this empty classroom and shut the door and pulled me into a hug," Ron was smiling wider than was humanly possible by now, an odd glint in his eyes. Harry shifted uneasily. "Then he asked me to go to the Ball with him. And then he kissed me." Ron cocked an eyebrow and wiggled it obnoxiously. Harry, trying hard to hide his embarrassment, threw his pillow at the red head, who dodged easily.

"And then? What did you say? What did you guys do?"

Harry stared hard at his friend. "You're pretty interested in this, which is surprising."

Ron laughed. "Oh come on! It's not every day my best mate gets asked to the Yule Ball by a guy, a guy who is rumored by almost everyone in the school to be smoking. Or to put it better, flaming. Anyway, he's hot. Also, I just never get to hear about anything interesting here." He paused at Harry's expression. "Diggory's a fox, everyone knows that."

Harry ran his hand through his hair, wincing when he realized it was the bandaged one. "Well, I tried to give him an answer, but he kinda cut me off." Ron stuck his tongue between his teeth as he grinned.

"Oh?"

"Yea."

"How?"

"His mouth."

Ron flopped down onto his back to Harry's bed. "Merlin, Harry. You obviously had some fun today. So why the hissy fit at dinner?"

"Because I said no." Ron shot up and stared at him. "And he didn't take my response very well."

"Hell," Ron breathed. "You turned down Diggory? Did I not emphasize that 'Diggory is a Fox' well enough?"

Harry laughed.

Ron swung around the other side of the bed, grabbing Harry's pillow and hurling it at the laughing bespectacled boy, who recieved the soft pillow straight in the face.

"But really," Ron continued. "You turned him down. Why?"

Harry shrugged. "It felt from the way he was coming onto me that he wanted more than a date to the Ball. He told me that he really likes me." Ron was smiling at him, and not in the same way he had been earlier, but instead a real friend's smile. "But, eventhough I was definitely enjoyed what he was doing, I just didn't feel anything at all beyond that towards Cedric." Ron's eyebrows drew together in contemplation.

"Hmm."

"I mean, I agree. He is one of the best looking guys in the school. But I just didn't feeling anything, besides turned on that a guy was snogging the hell out of me and hugging me possessively."

Ron grinned wickedly at Harry. "Possessively, eh?" Harry smacked him with his pillow and Ron laughed, falling to the bed again.

"You're such a pouf."

"Takes one to know one."

Harry laughed, leaning against the headboard again. Taking a deep breath and smiling at the red head, he said, "Damn. I'm one lucky guy."

"Why?" asked Ron, still lying on Harry's bed. "Because you got snogged by the foxy man?"

"No," answered Harry, glancing at Ron and grinning. "Because I have awesome friends like you, who accept me for being the way I am, and crazy friends, like Hermione, who care about me. She's probably worried sick right now." He paused, swallowing as he looked up at the ceiling. Looking back at Ron, he smirked. "And of course, for getting snogged by one of the hottest guys in the school."

Ron smiled and stood up, walking over to his own bed and kicking off his shoes, preparing for bed. "So," he said, as he pulled off his sweater. "Is he a good kisser?" He looked over at Harry, blue eyes glinting. He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry smirked at his best friend. "I don't kiss and tell," he said, sticking his tongue between his teeth deviously. Ron scoffed and hurled his pillow at Harry's head. For the second time that night Harry was hit in the face and soon retaliated by starting one of the best pillow fights the Gryffindor boys dormitory had ever seen.


	6. To Cry

Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed!! I'm so happy to hear from all of you! XD. For those of you wondering, this **is **a Harry/Draco fic, I'm just building other stuff up around it. Regarding the chapter lengths, they get a lot longer as the story goes on. I began writing this a while back and bumped into it recently and decided to shine it up and post, hence it going up now. ^_^

Thank you again and enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Harry Potter. Honestly, I just like to play with the characters every now and then. eh heh heh heh....**

Chapter 6: To Cry

"You should tell Hermione," Ron whispered into Harry's ear causing him to choke on his orange juice. Sputtering, the raven haired boy stared at his friend, who was frowning at him slightly. The red head gave him a pointed look and jerked his head toward their bushy haired friend.

Hermione had been shooting concerned looks at Harry all morning and was now sitting sadly at the Gryffindor table poking unhappily at a plate of eggs and toast. Seeing her, Harry felt horrible for not talking to her, seeing as she was one of his best friends, but he felt extremely uncomfortable around his new self discovery.

"Are you kidding?" Harry whispered to Ron. "It was hard enough telling you. I have no idea how she's gonna take this."

"No time like the present!" said Ron cheerfully as he shoved Harry. Caught off balance, the raven haired boy pitched into the marmalade and began to sputter. Hermione giggled and Ron started to laugh, pointing at Harry as the obvious culprit for his amusement.

"Ron, you git," Harry muttered, wiping marmalade off his face and cleaning his hands on a napkin.

"Hey," said Ron. "I thought it was funny. Not my fault you felt like smelling the marmalade this morning."

"Ha ha," said Harry derisively, taking a glob of marmalade from his nose and smearing it on Ron's face. Hermione burst out laughing at this. Neville, who was sitting next to her, was rather red in the face, smiling broadly, and watching Harry and Ron's little episode with an extreme look of amusement. Ron laughed and wiped the marmalade from his face.

Picking up his wand, Ron pointed it at his best friends face and said "Scourgify." Instantly Harry felt the sticky goo on his face vanish and he was left feeling extremely bare and clean. He wrinkled his face a few times, trying to get the feeling back of it being normal. Ron grinned at him. Hermione seemed to have gotten ahold of herself and was now simply smiling at her toast.

Glancing at his watch, Ron turned to Harry, smiling slightly. "Right," he said, getting up and looking down at his friend. "Best be off. I forgot my potions book in the dormitory. See you in Hell!" Finishing his statement, he promptly bounded off out of the Great Hall.

"Well, he's cheery for Snape's class," Hermione commented as she watched their ginger friend disappear through the doors. "And I think that's the first time I've ever heard him refer to it as 'Hell.'"

"He only calls it Hell when he feels happy," Harry said, taking a bite out of his toast and looking over at her. He smiled at her.

Looking relieved, Hermione smiled back and scooted closer to where he was sitting so that she was practically sitting opposite him on the bench. Neville gave a small squeak of protest before sliding down the bench into Dean and Seamus. Hermione continued to look at him, now expectantly.

Harry sighed and dropped his toast to his plate. "I expect you want to know the story," he asked, tilting his head and giving her his 'I know what you're thinking' look. Hermione nodded. Harry sighed again and stood up. Looking down at his bushy haired friend he said, "I'll tell you on the way to potions, okay?"

"Fine, Harry," Hermione said, standing up and grinning brightly at him. The two walked out of the Great Hall together and, glancing over his shoulder as they left, Harry made sure no one they knew was following, or anyone at all, for that matter. Seeing the coast was clear, he sped up and, taking hold of her arm, pulled her along until they were a ways from any other students or portraits which could betray him.

Looking down at his feet and sighing, Harry said, "Okay, so, you know when Cedric asked me for a word yesterday?"

"Yes," said Hermione.

Harry glanced up at her before returning his gaze to the floor and his shoes. "Well, he, er, umm... he."

"He what?" Hermione asked, somewhat impatiently.

"He asked me to the Yule Ball," Harry said, rather quickly, and clenched his eyes shut for the response.

Hermione was silent for a moment. Harry looked up at her and met her shocked brown eyes.

"Cedric asked you to the ball," Hermione said, as if confirming it for herself.

"Yes," Harry said, deciding that she needed to hear the absolute confirmation. She was silent again for a moment, and he could almost see the machinery whirling in her head to try to put two and two together. He was shocked however, when she just shrugged.

"So, what'd you say?" asked Hermione, her eyes now glistening with interest. "I mean, so, he's gay. That's fine. Did you say yes? Are you going with him? That would be so cute."

"Hermione," Harry said, interrupting her flow of speech. She closed her mouth obediently. "I said no." Her face fell. "But not before he snogged me," Harry added in a mumble. Hermione positively squealed.

"Cedric snogged you! Oh my God this is too much!" She was practically dancing now, her hair bouncing around almost joyfully. "Oh Harry, why didn't you ever tell me you were gay?"

"Because I didn't know until Diggory cornered me and decided to profess his love for me by attacking my mouth," Harry said, exasperated.

Hermione stopped in mid dance. "Oh."

"Yeah," said Harry. "Oh."

"But why did you turn him down?"

Harry sighed (he seemed to be doing that a lot recently). "Look, I just didn't feel the same way about him that he felt about me. He seemed to be looking for more than a date to the dance and I, I mean, I like Cedric, he's a nice guy, handsome too, but I just don't feel that way towards him."

"So that's why," said a deep voice quietly. Harry spun around to see Cedric standing a few feet away, cast in shadows slightly. "That's why you said no." Harry felt his stomach clench horribly seeing the Hufflepuff's form and felt an irresistible urge to do anything to bring Cedric back to his normally happy self.

Hermione, feeling awkward, backed away a few feet and left Harry to talk with the other boy at a distance. Harry wanted to reach out and grab her to keep her from leaving him alone but at the same time wanting her to disappear and not have to watch what was happening.

"I'm really sorry, Cedric," said Harry quietly, looking the other boy deep in the eyes and trying to convey his remorse to the Hufflepuff. "It's just, I don't love you. You're a wonderful person and I like you and all, but, I don't feel the same."

By now, Hermione had disappeared down a hidden passageway and left both boys alone. Cedric looked at Harry sadly for a moment before suddenly sweeping over to him and wrapping the Gryffindor in his arms.

"You idiot," Cedric breathed into Harry's hair. "It's not like I was asking you to marry me, I just wanted to be accepted by you. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, melting into the comforting embrace and wrapping his arms around Cedric. The older boy held him close and Harry felt so peaceful, so loved, so protected, for once in his life, he simply let go of everything and enjoyed Cedric's loving embrace.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you," Harry murmured into Cedric's chest.

Cedric smiled and drew back slightly to look at Harry. Harry's heart leapt when he saw a glint of happiness in the other boys eyes and a faint smile. As he had the day before, the seventh year rested his forehead against Harry's and breathed contentedly. "I'm sorry if I was moving too fast," he whispered, nose slightly rubbing against Harry's. "I was just so happy you weren't rejecting me, especially because of how I feel about you."

Harry smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing with Cedric and feeling completely natural.

"Would you reconsider your answer?" Cedric whispered, cracking his eyes and gazing warmly down at Harry. Harry opened his eyes and stared into Cedric's comforting gray pools. "You don't have to answer right now, you can tell me later when you have time to think it over. I just really would like to go with you."

"Okay," murmured Harry, smiling up at Cedric, who grinned and pulled him to his chest again, sighing happily as he rested his head against Harry's hair.

"That makes me so happy, you have no idea," Cedric purred, nuzzling Harry's black mess and smiling.

After a few moments of embracing happily, Harry pulled away from Cedric and smiled. Grinning at him, Cedric asked, "Would you dance with me at lessons tonight? We are supposed to start learning this evening in the Great Hall."

Harry grinned back. "Sounds good," he said, before turning and heading in the direction of potions. Turning around to look behind him, he saw Cedric walking away, a slight lit in his step.

Laughing quietly to himself, Harry turned back to walk to Snape's room.

Passing an old suit of armor, Harry received a horrible shock when he saw Draco Malfoy standing there, half concealed, with a look of complete shock planted on his features.

The two boys then proceeded to stare at each other in complete shock and disbelief for a whole five minutes, mouths hanging open, and minds trying to climb back into reason and the real world, which they believed to have left some time ago. In the end it was Malfoy who broke the seemingly endless staring in disbelief contest. He blinked and closed his mouth only to open it again, supposedly to talk, but only managing a sort of odd gurgling sound before blurting out "egh...ah... you....and, and, and.... ball... with shoes... and... and, and.....butterbeer. "

It was the first time in his life that Draco Malfoy had failed to speak fluently and without at least three jabs at the subject included. As his mouth was randomly spewing nonsense, his brain was screaming at him 'What are you doing!? Get it together man! Insult him! Insult him!' However, this thought process did not seem to reach his motor skills and his mouth continued to make no sense and his body frozen in dumb shock.

The incoherent noise spewing from Malfoy's mouth seemed to have shaken Harry from his frozen state of absolute shock and mouth gaping. With a little shiver, he closed his mouth and blinked, trying to relieve his stinging eyes before he opened them again, hoping to not see what he thought he had seen. Opening his eyes again though he was met with what he least wanted to see. Malfoy, semi-concealed behind a suit or armor, mouth hanging open, and usual mask of cool gone to be replaced by a look of supreme shock and loss.

Harry seemed to be so thrown by the sudden appearance of Malfoy that he actually lost his balance and stumbled back a few steps, shaking his head slightly. Malfoy however, was still stuck in his own personal body bind curse now classified by him mind as 'dumb shock' and maintained his previous composure. Regaining his balance, Harry glared at Malfoy, expecting a full glare back and some sharp insult from the pale faced Slytherin. Mafoy remained stuck however, which greatly displeased Harry.

To try to encourage some method of normalcy, Harry walked up to Malfoy and slapped him across the face screaming, "What makes you think you can just spy on two people involved in a private conversation, you filthy snake!?"

The sudden sting across Malfoy's jaw seemed to have finally broken his trace-like shock. That and the force which Harry slapped him unbalanced him and he fell into the suit of armor causing it to crash to the ground and create more noise than the Irish supporters at the Quidditch World Cup. It seemed that the combined noise and pain, were finally enough to bring Malfoy back to his senses. Blinking confusedly from the floor among the suit of armor, he looked up at Harry.

Harry was finally beginning to get his mind back, and discovered himself to be extremely embarrassed and irritated by the blond sprawled on the floor. He glared viciously down at the Slytherin. Malfoy, upon finally registering in his vision an extremely irate Gryffindor, scrambled to his feet and glared back as ferociously as he could.

"What's up with you, Potter?" he sneered. "Or do you just glare at anyone who suits your fancy and I have just been the once who has fallen victim today?"

"What are you doing here?" Harry spat at him, face burning in anger.

"I-" Malfoy started and then paused, trying to remember why he had been in the corridor and hiding behind a suit of armor in the first place. Then he remembered and his eyes widened as he looked at Harry. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing at Harry. "You!" He seemed to be searching for words for a moment, but soon found them. "I just was heading to Potions when you just happened to ruin my pleasant stroll by going all mushy in front of me with Diggory! And you make is all my fault for trying to hide from such a thing and try to preserve my innocent mind!"

At this Harry actually found himself laughing. "Preserve your innocent mind?" he gasped, hand on his side, trying to breathe. "I don't think anything can preserve your mind at this point. You have never had an innocent mind!"

Malfoy reddened in anger and he glared at Harry. "You're one to talk," he sneered. "Going cuddly with a Hufflepuff. Then again, I suppose that is what you have to do. Deprived of love as a child, you search in others, regardless of who they are."

The next thing he knew, Malfoy was back on the ground next to the suit of armor with his jaw smarting and Harry towering over him, breathing heavily and radiating fury.

"Don't," Harry ground out, teeth clenched along with fists. "Ever insult my parents like that."

Scowling, Malfoy swiftly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, confirming a bleeding lip, and looked steadily at Harry. "I didn't insult your parents, Potter," he mummered. "I insulted you and your constant need of attention."

Harry took in a sharp breath and stilled. Malfoy continued. "For example, this tournament. Every year you go about all perfect Potty and everyone loves you. Look at this now. You've become Hogwarts Champion. Oh glorious day, I can't wait to see you become Minister of Mag-"

"SHUT-UP!" bellowed Harry, burning with anger as he glared down at the Slytherin on the floor. "Shut- up! Shut-up! Shut-up! Why can't you just shut your filthy mouth for once, you prat, and keep your nose in your own bloody business!"

The next thing he knew, Harry was throwing punches at Malfoy, who was slightly delayed in his retaliation of punches, but was soon fighting back with as much vigor as he could manage. All of the drowning emotions from everything Harry had felt began to pound through him. The Tournament, Ron hating him earlier in the year, Sirius not being with him, the Ball, his random dreams, his scar, Voldemort, they all flashed through his mind rapidly, fueling his rage as he lashed out blindly at Malfoy.

"What the F*ck!" Malfoy yelled at him, trying to defend himself against Harry. "Fine! Just go ahead and snap! It's not like you're the only one with problems! Oh no! We all have it easy compared to you! Screw you!"

Harry began to cry, whether in pain or in fury he didn't know. Teeth bared, face tear-streaked, body burning, Harry began to lose his accuracy and, before he knew it, he arms fell limp and he simply sat there, stradling Malfoy, who had also stopped fighting and was now watching Harry in complete disbelief.

"Oi!" Malfoy yelled at him, face both annoyed and scared. Apparently having a crying Potter on his lap was not Malfoy's top choices of how to spend the afternoon. Frantically, he threw out both of his arms and tried to push Harry off of him, growling in frustration when Harry simply leaned forward onto his hands, using his own force to support his weight. Clenching his teeth, Malfoy grunted in defeat, removing his arms and simply lying there with arms propping him up, staring at Harry as the other boy sat, hunched in his lap, crying.

Finally getting ahold of himself, Harry sniffed slightly, quickly swiping the last of his tears furiously from his face before looking up to glare at Malfoy. Glaring failed however when he saw Malfoy, lying placidly beneath him with his head dropped back, staring at the ceiling. His smooth pale neck almost glowed in the dark corridor and Harry could help but stare. It was short lived however, as Malfoy seemed to realize that Harry was no longer a sobbing ball of wizard on his lap and he jerked his head up, an eyebrow raising when he saw Harry staring at him.

"Oh grand," Malfoy said, raising his head and looking at Harry. "You've come back to the real world. Welcome home. Would you like a fruit basket?" Harry sniffed in answer. "I'll take that as a yes." Harry just stared. "Look, if you don't mind, I'd like to get up some time today." Harry stared. "So get off."

Harry finally realized that the fact that he was sitting on Malfoy was actually not normal and scrambled to get off. In his haste he managed to completely tangle himself in his own limbs and fall over in a completely disorganized fashion so that he was half sprawled on top of Malfoy, flattening the other boy to the floor with a soft "unf."

"Your genius never ceased to amaze me, Potter," Malfoy drawled. Groaning, he pushed Harry off of himself and sat up, straightening his robes.

Harry scrambled to his feet and eyed Malfoy suspiciously. The feeling of Harry's gaze seemed to have alerted Malfoy and he looked up at the Gryffindor.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you? I detect no scathing comment."

Malfoy blinked, then smirked. "Nothing, Potty. I am just the plain old stinking Slytherin you always knew me as."

Harry scowled. "Then why was I not cursed into a thousand pieces while sitting on you? Or has this become normal conduct between us suddenly." He took a step back and searched for his wand.

Malfoy sighed. "Relax, Green-eyes, I'm too tired to do anything that elaborate. So far, I find that simply calling you 'Golden Boy' or 'Potty' elicits the same amusing reaction that a simple wand gesture would." He smirked. "Besides, the whole wand business is so troublesome, and mind games are much more entertaining."

Harry growled. "Who are you and what have you done to Malfoy?"

Malfoy actually laughed. He brought himself to his feet and fell into a graceful nonchalant lean against the wall opposite Harry. "I'm Draco Malfoy. Same bastard you have known for four years." He smirked. "Same 'stinking Slytherin,' same blond boy, same purebood, same stinking reality."

Harry stared. "What?"

Malfoy snorted and turned to walk away, glancing at Harry sidelong. "And I see you haven't changed either, still slow on the uptake. Though I suppose that sob session was something new."

Harry glared at Malfoy as he walked off, wincing slightly every few steps, before he remembered what Malfoy had seen. "Hey!" he yelled, running up to the retreating Slytherin. "What about you spying on me?!"

Malfoy stopped walking and turned to face Harry. "So Diggory is another fan who wants a piece of the famous Potter. Congratulations. I am so happy for you."

The sarcasm obviously not appreciated, Harry settled for glaring. Malfoy smirked, his broken lip breaking again and bleeding slightly.

"Your lip is bleeding," Harry pointed out, unnecessarily, but silence seemed uncomfortable at the moment.

Malfoy wiped his mouth and glanced at the blood. "Wonderful. I can make some daring story up about being attacked by a mountain troll or something and coming out victorious with only a bleeding lip."

Harry stared. That was another thing that he seemed to be doing a lot of recently. Staring.

"We have potions, Potter," Malfoy commented, turning away and walking down the corridor to the dungeons again. He paused and turned back to Harry, smiling slyly. "Want to walk together, Potty?" He put on a simpering voice. "I don't like walking alone. I need someone big and strong and heroic to protect me."

Harry glared at him. "Shove off, Malfoy."

Malfoy shrugged. "Suit yourself. This way is the fastest isf you don't mind walking with a snake."

"Fat chance," Harry snarled.

Malfoy smirked and turned and walked away again, briefly raising his hand in farewell and left Harry standing in the stone corridor, still trying to understand what had just happened.


	7. To Confuse

Thank you again for the reviews and everything! It makes me so happy to see them popping up in my inbox! XD

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter or the idea. I only own my own crazy mind and ideas, which unfortunately do not make me millions of dollars and movies. **

Chapter 7: To Confuse

"Potter."

Harry gulped. Snape was looming over him like a great overgrown bat, scowling.

"Do you think," he said, his voice slipping as if it too was covered in grease along with the rest of him. "That because you are the fabulous Hogwarts Champion Who Lived Little Boy Wonder that you have the right to come to class late?"

Harry mimed a fish out of water in response. Snape sneered at him.

"In that case, ten points from Gryffindor," a few of the students gasped and Ron let out a protesting sound much like an angered bird. "And you'll need a partner for the lab. Hmmm. Let's see." The Potions Master glanced around the room, smirking. "Ah yes, Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps you might feel kind enough to help Potter with his obvious superiority complex and lack of potions skills."

Malfoy glanced up from his desk, met Harry's eyes briefly, smirked, and looked back down to his Potions Book.

"Well, as long as Mr. Malfoy is willing to cooperate, I think that you might try to take after his example, Potter," Snape muttered.

Harry would have liked to throw a wet sponge at Snape, whether in anger or curiosity to see if the slimy man would run away from hygene, he didn't know. However, he held his tongue and hung his head as he walked over to the desk currently occupied by Malfoy. Without saying a word, Harry dropped his bag to the floor and flumped down into the seat next to Malfoy, a prominent scowl on his features.

Mafloy continued to pour over his potions text and paid Harry no notice. Still glowering, Harry looked up at the board to read what potion they would be concocting. "'Self Truth Serum'," he read aloud quietly, still scanning the board. Malfoy turned a page next to him and murmured, "It reveals to the drinker who their true self is and what they truly feel. It can also identify who one is most attracted to, but that is only in rare cases and has only been recorded three times. Once by Alfred the Adulterer, once by Gradnost the Insane, and once by Tristan Carr, who committed suicide an hour later upon finding that his true love had died seven years prior in a freak ox cart accident."

Harry stared at him for a moment before leaning over slightly and whispering harshly, "First you don't attack me and act weird and now you are turning into Hermione. Honestly, who beat you with the happy stick of fun and games or is this just some monthly phase I don't know about?"

Malfoy's eye drifted to the next page and he began to play with a strand of hair with his pale fingers. "Firstly, you were sitting on me," he replied, still not looking at Harry. "Also, would you rather I attack you? I can do so if you really want." He grinned and Harry glowered. "You're the one who started all this hostility. After all, as far as I know you, you are just the boy who rejected my kind offer of friendship in first year."

"I wouldn't call that kind," snapped Harry, staring at Malfoy in disbelief. "I would say more of snide and superior."

"Everyone's stupid when they're eleven. I was no exception. Neither were you for that matter." Malfoy glanced briefly at Harry, but Harry was now glaring at the desk and picking away at the wood with his fingers and didn't notice. "That's just the reality."

"What up with you and reality anyway?" Harry asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"It what we live in, obviously," Malfoy said curtly. "And to answer your third point, I have always been a good student. You were just too busy seeing me as a prat to notice I actually try in my classes." He glaced at Harry again and cracked a smirk. "But then again, I could have always been beaten with the happy stick of fun and games and not know about it." He grinned at Harry again.

Harry stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was doing and quickly recovering and sitting back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking darkly at the desk as if it had given him the scar currently on his forehead.

Malfoy leaned towards him slightly. "You know we are supposed to be working together."

Harry glared at the desk harder, trying to resist the urge to pick up the piece of furniture and beat the pale boy next to him with it. To distract himself from the urge for physical violence via table smack, he leaned over and rummage in his bag for his potions equipment.

"Potter."

"What?" snapped Harry, still rummaging in his bag, now looking for some parchment and a quill to scratch notes down on.

"Much as I love the view," drawled Malfoy. "Could you please not wave your arse in my face like that?"

Harry, who had not been expecting a comment such as this, actually fell out of his chair straight into his bag and right into his transfigurations book. He heard a snapping sound and, as he pushed himself upright, felt his glasses dangling from his ears. Already in an awkward and embarrassing situation, Harry felt his face reddening, and his mood was not improved by Pavarti Patil and Lavender giggling at him from across the room.

"Thank you," said Malfoy, not looking up but continuing to work on the potion.

"You broke my glasses!" snarled Harry, dropping down into his seat, and glaring at Malfoy who was now only a pale blur next to him moving fuzzily.

"No I didn't," said Malfoy, turning towards him slightly, though Harry couldn't tell if he was looking at him or not. "Your transfigurations book broke your glasses because you fell into it. I had nothing to do with your glasses." Harry growled at him. "I simply asked you to stop waving your rump in my face."

"I was NOT waving my arse in your face!" Harry snapped, fiddling with the two broken halves of his glasses while still glaring at the fuzzy blot of Malfoy. "I was getting my potions ingredients!"

"Shut up," said Malfoy quietly.

"How can you tell me to shut up! You little g-"

"Mr. Potter!"

It seemed that Harry had forgotten that he was in a room full of other people and that one of those people was one of his least favorite people. Snape had glided over to them during the whole thing and was now looking down his hooked nose malevolently at him.

"Er," was all Harry could manage as he started up at the black blob that was his potions master, who seemed to be radiating an aura of annoyance and anger at the moment.

"Since it seems that you are unable to work even when I ask you," Snape ground out between clenched teeth, "It seemed that I have no choice but to have you come in later to finnish the assignment, seeing as I find it foolish to ruin another students grade because of your arrogance."

Snape turned on his heel and swept back to the front of the room to continue to watch the rest of the class for the remainder of the period, which was ending quickly.

Harry gaped at the black blob of Snape and turned to Malfoy. "Am I dreaming or did he just tell me to come in later with you to finnish this thing and not fail me."

"You need two people to make the potion," said the pale figure of Malfoy as he packed up the workings of the potion he had been working on. "I am not two people in case you haven't noticed. Or perhaps without your glasses you see double on occasion. I know you hate him, but Snape isn't completely unfair."

Harry glared and the blob-Malfoy. "He's just letting off his favorite Slytherin student, like he always does."

Malfoy sighed, closed his book, and turned to face Harry. "Hold still," He drawled holding up his hand and grasping what looked suspiciously like a stick of wood, also known as a wand, pointing directly at Harry's face. Harry froze rigid in his chair and looked at Malfoy in horror. "Reparo," the blond muttered and Harry felt the two halves of his glasses which he was holding up by his face, fuse together.

Bewildered, Harry looked down at his glasses, which still appeared to be fuzzy due to his poor eyesight, but which were obviously repaired. "What the Hell did you do that for?" he sputtered, hastily putting his glasses on and staring at Malfoy incredulously.

"Can't have you running into walls, suits of armour, or running up to random people and snogging them because you think they're Diggory," Malfoy drawled, smirking slightly as he leaned back in his chair and watched Harry, whose face had just gone a lovely shade of magenta. "On second though, that would be extremely entertaining. Fall on your Transfigurations book again would you, that'd be funny," he added grinning.

Sputtering indignantly, Harry stood up and glared furiously down at Malfoy, who continued to smirk up at him. "I really hate you, you know!" Harry spat at him, before snatching up his books with a growl and walking jerkily from the dungeon.

"Oi" Malfoy called after him. "We have to do our potions lab that you interrupted today this evening! Meet here after dinner."

Harry spun around to yell at the agonizing boy to find the door of the potions room swung shut in his face by a certain sallow skinned professor who was on his list of Top Disliked Persons.

"Potter, if you don't mind," sneered Professor Snape, gesturing smoothly to the dark corridor away from where the rest of the class was heading.

Harry, feeling that his luck couldn't possibly get any worse, followed the Potions Master a few yards down the dark passage.

"I don't know if you quite understand my intentions, Potter," Snape ground out, rubbing his head with his long fingers as if to relieve a throbbing pain. Harry stared at him in confusion. "The whole point in my pairing you with Mr. Malfoy was in an attempt to get you to learn something in my class." Harry gaped at him and Snape frowned. "Mr. Malfoy happens to be most proficient in Potions and you could learn a lot from him. You paired with Weasley has done nothing but impede your ability and, as the Hogwarts Champion, and one of my students, I will not allow you to continue this downward spiral that you have seemed to have taken as of late. I am going to pair up Weasley with Mrs. Granger. It seems that that might be the only way he will learn anything."

Harry simply stared in shock as his professor as if he had never seen him before in his life. "What are you talking about? I thought you hated me."

Snape laughed hollowly. "Oh, I dislike you a fair deal, Potter. However, I can't have you fouling up my class any longer and I expect to see some good results from your assignment tonight. If not, then I will be forced to go to the Headmaster about your antics and lack of attention in my class."

Harry felt himself grow hot with indignation. Before he could say anything however, Snape brushed passed him muttering "That is all" and leaving him alone. A second later, he had vanished and the Potions door opened and Malfoy strode out. Seeing Harry, he paused and smirked. Harry straightened up and glared at him.

"Want to walk me to class, Potter-boy?" Malfoy quipped, grinning at Harry. "It's good old Care of Magical Creatures you know. I'd rather not be attacked by another Hippogriff." He mimed a terrified and helpless expression. Harry scowled.

"You provoked him," Harry snarled, marching up to Malfoy. "And since when have you ever wanted to be in my company?"

"Since I wanted to see people look in horror at two enemies together in the same corridor not killing each other," responded Malfoy, grinning wider still.

Harry raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "You're sick, you know that?"

Malfoy just smiled at him.

"Any other reason you're being so sickly nice?"

"Not really. Thought those facial expressions are pretty much worth it." Harry glared at him and he laughed. "Just consider it one less enemy at the moment, yeah? You can still hate me in public to keep up images and whatever, I don't care."

Harry eyed him warily. "You seriously need to get your head checked."

Malfoy laughed. "Without a doubt. So, what do you say. Shall we attempt a semi-civilized conversation on the walk to Care of Magical Carnivores or what?"

"Carnivores?"

"An animal that feeds on flesh, Latin based," Malfoy smirked at Harry's obvious displeasure at his explanation. "Oh come on, Hagird's love of dangerous things is quite obvious. I am surprised we haven't been introduced to any acromantula yet."

Harry shivered, remembering his second year and Aragog. "You don't even want to know," he said with another shiver. Malfoy looked at him curiously. "I think the blast- ended skrewts are good for now."

"Think we'll walk them again?"

"All depends on whether they can take us for a walk or not."

Malfoy laughed and began to walk with Harry down the hall.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, some students passing by looked at them in shock and one or two of them actually stopped and stared, little Dennis Creevey actually fell over. Malfoy, surprisingly, kept darting quick looks at Harry as he walked, Harry staring determinedly ahead. Suddenly Malfoy said, "So why did you reject my invitation on the first day?"

Harry remained silent as the walked for a moment as Malfoy stared at him, waiting for his answer. Finally Harry replied, "You just seemed like a stuck up pretty boy who wanted the famous boy on his side. And you were stuck up before then even."

Malfoy gaped at him. "I didn't see you until that day on the train. What do you mean before?"

Harry smirked. "I met you when I was in Diagon Alley. You were getting your robes fitted."

Malfoy's jaw dropped open so that it looked as if gravity was using every force to claim it. "It was you in there? I can't believe I didn't realize it. Wow, no wonder you wanted to get rid of me."

Harry stared at him. Malfoy grinned foolishly. "I thought you were some kid from another great wizarding family. I mean," he paused and gesticulated irritably, "how was I supposed to know! The only other person I met that day was flaming Millicent Bulstrode. Lets face it, she's enough to put anyone on their guard, even Hagrid."

Harry burst out laughing at this and Malfoy smiled a little. "I was trying to be impressive, I suppose." He sighed. "Didn't work though."

"Not really," sighed Harry, lacing his hands behind his head as he walked. "You seemed like the biggest prat I had ever met. Well, except Dudley."

"Dudley?"

"You don't want to know."

"Oh."

Another pause.

"So I was pretty much a prat from day one to you then?"

Harry nodded and glanced at Malfoy.

"Shame," sighed Malfoy, stuffing his hands into his pockets and slouching slightly as he walked, which gve him a relaxed and eased look. Much different from his usual proud upright stance. "So I had already mussed things up with Golden Boy before I even had a chance."

Harry frowned at him, pondering over his words. Chance for what? "Why do you always single me out?"

Malfoy looked at him sidelong, smirking slightly. "Your reactions, they're brilliantly funny. And because..." he trailed off and looked ahead of him dazedly, smirk fading.

"What?"

"Nothing. We're late."

Harry hastily removed his hands from behind his head and glanced at his watch to see they had under three minutes to make it out to Hagrid's on time. "Shit!" he swore as both he and Malfoy broke into a heavy sprint down the corridor.


	8. To Speak

Thanks so much for the hits and reviews! I love them! So here's a new chapter. Starting after this one, I'll be posting every few days instead of every day. Just letting you guys know. I'll also be going away this weekend, so I wont be posting at all. Hope you can enjoy this anyway!

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry, his friends, Draco or Cedric. I only own the crazy ideas that thought up this thing. **

Chapter 8: To Speak

"Harry, I'm worried about you."

Harry looked up at Hermione over his Shepards pie, mouth half full and a look of confusion on his face. He swallowed his food laboriously and cleared his throat. "Hermione, I know that I'm in danger. I pretty much figured that out after I faced the Horntail. I can understand your being worried but honestly, right now it's kinda pointless."

Hermione shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. "No, no," she huffed, wearing a patronizing look. "I mean I'm worried about how Malfoy is treating you."

Harry blanked.

"I mean," Hermione elaborated. "That he's been acting strangely." At seeing the uncomprehending look on her friends face, she huffed irritably and continued. "He's been acting so, well, friendly. It's unlike him. It makes me worry he's up to something."

"Stoph fussin' 'Mione," Ron forced out over his mouthful of once appetizing food now transformed into repulsion as he joined the conversation. Hermione shot him a look of disgust at his speaking with such copious amount of food still half chewed. He hastily swallowed with difficulty. "I mean," he continued, his speech now clear due to the lack of obstruction. "You shouldn't be so paranoid. Right now, if we were being paranoid, we'd be testing this food for poisons, considering the circumstances. Stop being such a worry wart."

Hermione shot Ron a very dirty look, huffed, grabbed her school bag, and marched off, probably headed to the common room to fume as she completed her History of Magic essay. Ron turned to Harry. "And she says you're the one with mood swings," he said, smiling slightly. "What time of the month is it? We should start recording and seeing if there's a pattern so we can be prepared."

Harry burst out laughing at this while Ron watched his friends reaction, smiling broadly. A light tap on his shoulder made him turn around and swallow his laughter in surprise, making him choke and cough.

Malfoy waited patiently for Harry's coughing fit to cease as all the eyes of Gryffindor table turned to stare at the out of place Slytherin and Ron glowered at the pale boy. The sight of two house rivals who practically embodied the battle between the two houses in the same area, let alone one of those people invading the territory of the other. "You going to live, Potter?" the Slytherin asked dryly.

Finally having recovered, Harry straightened up and look steadily at the young Malfoy. "Can I help you?" he asked cooly.

"How polite," Malfoy said, grinning slightly before motioning for Harry to stand discretely. "I was hoping that you'd be good enough to come and complete that potions lab we are supposed to do."

Harry's eyes widened and his face reddened in embarasment. He had completely forgotten about the lab he was supposed to do tonight. So much had happened today that it seemed to have pushed it from his mind.

"You have to do a lab with the ferret?" Ron asked incredulously, gaping at Harry.

"Yes, he does," Malfoy responded for Harry curtly. "And since when did you get off referring to me as 'the ferret?' Think it's funny, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Ron shot back, grinning obnoxiously. "It is very funny, Malfoy. You just have no sense of humor."

Malfoy sighed in exasperation. "Whatever. C'mon Potter," he said, turning and indicating for Harry to follow him. "I want to get this lab over as quickly as possible."

Harry got up, grabbed his school bag, and hurried out of the Great Hall after Malfoy as Ron scoffed behind him, returning to his interrupted mound of food which rivaled the diet of mountain troll. Once they were a little way from the Great Hall, Malfoy slowed slightly and heaved a sigh.

"His remarks are really beginning to annoy me," the pale boy said heavily, turning his face slightly to Harry as he spoke. "Is he always that obnoxious or is it just for me that he goes out of his way to antagonize?"

"You're one to talk," Harry retorted, feeling it odd to be speaking so casually with his arch rival. "It's not like you have drops of sugar dripping from your lips when you talk to him either. You can't blame him for it all." Suddenly he grinned, turning to Malfoy, who eyed his apprehensively. "Maybe his minds just like yours, doing it for the 'entertainment' or whatever."

Malfoy glared at him and decided chose to ignore his comment, instead replying to his previous statement. "Have I ever had sugar dripping from my lips, Potter?"

"I don't know," Harry mused, smiling slightly as he looked at Malfoy. "I've never seen you in a situation where that would be the case. I imagine it'd be quite a sight to see though."

"I think that the likeliness of that is about equal to you asking Gilderoy Lockhart to adopt you," Malfoy said, grinning broadly at Harry as they turned down the corridor to the potions classroom.

Harry shuddered. "Now I remember why I hate you so much," he grumbled, the distrubing memory of Lockhart still flashing in his mind obnoxiously. "Because you constantly remind me of things which make me feel like kicking in a door or vomiting convulsively."

Malfoy laughed and opened the door to the Potions classroom. Snape was waiting for them there, seated at his desk and reading what appeared to be a stack of essays for grading and with a small plate of food beside him. Hearing the door open, he looked up and, catching sight of the two boys, sighed, placed the essay he had been reading, and stood up, swiftly walking over to them and closing the door behind him.

"Well," Snape said, running a hair tiredly though his greasy strands. "You two certainly took your time getting down here. I believe I told you to come down exactly after dinner."

"You did, Sir," Malfoy said, walking over to a nearby desk, and beginning to remove the necessary equipment from his bag. "It is, in fact, however, the middle of dinner. I believe your clock is fast by at least 20 minutes. I noticed that when I came in after Care of Magical Creatures to remind you that you have to supervise the dancing tonight because Moody obviously can't dance very well, due to his..." He paused for a moment before concluding, "injury."

Snape's face seemed to become even more sallow at this and his scowl more prominent. He took a moment before recovering back into his normal composure and glancing at the clock. "Very well. Get to work. I expect you two to have finished before the 'frivolity' tonight," he said, obviously meaning the dancing lessons, at which Harry internally scowled and groaned at, remembering that he was going to have to learn to dance tonight. Snape, not paying attention to Harry or Malfoy, resumed his position reading the essays at his desk and occasionally picking at his plate of food.

Sighing at seeing his Head of House's neglect to change the clock, Malfoy briefly raised his wand, aimed it at the clock, and the hand zoomed back to rest on the correct time, before resuming to remove the necessary materials from his bag. He looked up at Harry. "Are you planning on just watching me or am I going to get some help in this?" he asked, pausing for a moment in removing his scales from his bag.

Shaking himself slightly, Harry walked over to the desk Malfoy was occupying, now setting up the cauldron and removing the necessary ingredients. Harry opened his potions book to the appropriate page and read. Half way down the page, he looked over to Malfoy, who was beginning to cut up ingredients. "Are we going to have to test this?" he asked, trying to mask his anxiety about doing so.

"Yes," Snape replied from the front of the class, looking over to them. "Since you two were so intent on making a disturbance, you missed the fact that, if your potion is deemed safe, you will be testing it. Under supervision of course."

Harry blushed. He didn't think he would really enjoy blurting out his secrets and the person he was most attracted to in front of his least favorite teacher and rival. The idea made his stomach churn unhappily. He gulped. "Oh."

"In which case," Malfoy said, pausing as he finely crushed up Grindylow spines. "I would hope that you would work with me and try to actually create a decent potion." He gave Harry a meaningful look. "Meaning get to work. Now."

Not wanting to be the subject of that voice any longer, Harry quickly pulled out his own potions ingredients and began to work. Within half an hour, he and Malfoy had managed to prepare a cauldron full of a lightly steaming substance which was slightly opaque and a vague icy blue. Malfoy was scanning the book and Snape had stopped his grading to evaluate the potion at a distance for a moment.

"Well," said Malfoy, his eyes jumping from the potion to the book and back again. "It looks like it says it should look and I can't think of anything we've done wrong. What do you think professor?"

In answer, Snape stood up, swept over to the two boys, and handed each a small beaker saying only one word: "Test."

Harry gulped. Suddenly, he dearly wished that he hadn't done a good job with Malfoy and succeeded in creating the potion. He watched Malfoy dip in the ladel they were using and put a small amount of the potion in the beaker, a slightly look of reluctance on his face. He handed Harry the ladel without looking at him. Harry, hands slightly shaking, managed to ladel some of the potion into his own beaker before he looked up at Snape, wishing that the Potions Master would suddenly become extremely uncharacteristic and laugh telling them he was only kidding.

Snape, however, maintained his composure and simply nodded at the two boys. Taking a breath, Harry brought the beaker to his lips, watching as Malfoy mirrored him out of the corner of his eye. Closing his eyes he quickly swallowed the substance as quickly as he could. Surprisingly, it didn't taste all that bad, somewhat like Maple tree sap before it had been boiled down for syrup. However, it was feeling it travel down which made Harry shiver, as it felt a little cold and icy and left his throat tingling.

He looked over to Malfoy and saw the pale boy wore the same expression Harry imagined was on his own face. "That was weird," the Slytherin remarked, indifferently.

Harry opened his mouth intending to agree with the blond but instead he heard himself say something completely different. "I am an emotionally imbalanced youth with an identity crisis and sexual preference issues as well as maintaining a constant hatred of my supposed destiny. Most of these things are due to my lack of good parenting and early childhood neglect."

Snape stared at him. Malfoy looked like he was about to laugh. Harry quickly clapped his hands over his mouth in shock as his face reddened in embarrassment. After a moment he opened his mouth, supposedly to respond to his outburst. However, he seemed to now be experiencing what Harry had just done. "I have a superiority complex and an extreme case of self hate and depression as well as issues of empowerment and perfectionistic qualities stemming from an abusive childhood and high expectations due to pureblood status. I am horrible at expressing myself and, in an effort to try to be accepted, force myself onto people and result with the social image of a bully, which I internally despise. I lov-"

Before he could finnish, Malfoy, who had been going redder and redder at every word coming from his mouth and positively blanched at his last interrupted statement, quickly slapped both hands over his mouth forcefully to stop himself from blurting out his last statement. The energy was a bit excessive, seeing as he managed to nearly unbalance himself and fall out of the chair as his mouth kept on spewing information behind his hands, as if determined not to stop.

Snape was watching both boys with supreme interest and what could have been called amusement, except Harry knew that his teacher lacked any sense of humor at all. Harry was watching Malfoy struggle against his mouth in shock. It seemed his mouth refused to allow him to keep the last statement from being heard and it looked as though he was fighting with himself, thrashing slightly in his seat.

The next moment, Harry was speaking again, and he was horrified at what was coming out of his mouth. "I have extreme difficulty in finding anyone who appeals to me, due to a firm belief established as a child that I am unlovable and unworthy of any affection, which makes me deny anything which would even remotely be described as love. However, recently, I have been confused in many regards with the recent situation of the Yule Ball to which Ce-"

It was Harry's turn to clamp his hands over his mouth. Having Malfoy know about him and Cedric's confusing... whatever it was, was one thing but to have one of his Professors, let alone Snape, know, was absolutely horrifying. Therefore, he was now experiencing exactly what his opposite was wrestling with; his mouth seemed to have gained its own personality, and, aided by portions of his body, was trying its best to yell his secrets for the world to hear.

Snape seemed to be enjoying the spectacle before him. "My my," he said, smiling slightly (although, according to Harry, that was impossible). "Well, this is certainly much more entertaining that I had expected it to be. No one has yet before come to the point of admitting their attractions." Malfoy shot an angry look at the Potion's Master, still struggling with his mouth. Harry found himself copying the blond and glaring daggers at the dark haired man. "I must admit, it is quite interesting to see. However, if you two are going to spurt love stories, I might as well leave you to it." And in a complete shift of character, he walked to the door leading to his office at the back of the room and disappeared through it, leaving both boys staring horrified at the now closed door.

The fight with mouths seemed to be intensifying for both Harry and Malfoy, seeing as Harry was finding himself nearly jolted from his seat and it looked as if Malfoy was just as bad. Suddenly, the blond wrenched so violently that he was thrown into Harry, knocking them both to the floor. As he hit the floor, Harry's hand flew away from his mouth and, instead of words, he belched loudly.

Malfoy didn't seem to have survived the fall as well as Harry did. His face was paled to a degree that wasn't humanly possible and he looked petrified. Harry didn't blame him, seeing as he was feeling pretty awkward himself with the blond practically lying on top of him. Maybe this was how Malfoy had felt when Harry has been sitting on him. Eyes widening Malfoy lurched to the side away from Harry and promptly vomited all over the floor, coughing.

Harry tried to sit up to help the Slytherin (help a Slytherin. Who would have thought) but found it rather difficult, due to the fact that Malfoy was still sprawled on him for the most part. Therefore, all he could do was wait and watch as Malfoy steadied himself on shaky arms, still coughing occasionally, and regained him balance enough to move away from the pile of sick, wiping his hand on his sleeve, to collapse. To Harry's surprise and embarrassment, the blond collapsed back onto _him._

"Erm," Harry said awkwardly, caught between patting Malfoy and touching him and keeping his arms on the floor as they were, causing him to so an odd sort of waving with his upper limbs as he lay with the Slytherin on top of him. "Malfoy?"

"Nnnngh," Malfoy ground out, eyes squeezed shut, trying to keep out noise and anything. After a moment he blearily opened his eyes and blinked dazedly at Harry as if not recognizing him before saying "Sick. Hospital. Bed" and promptly passing out on top of Harry.

Harry, already wide eyed, simply stared in shock as the blond lay unconsciously on top of him. After a moment and a bit of struggling, he managed to push the blond off of him for the most part so he could sit up. Taking out his wand, he pointed it at the pool of sick and said "evanesco" making it disappear instantly, before he dragged Malfoy to a sitting postion and leaned him against the wall.

Harry crouched down and, using one of the cloths from the cabinet behind him, wiped Malfoy's face of whatever remnants there were of sick. He felt odd being so kind to the Slytherin rival, but at the same moment felt he had to do it. Snape had left and no one else was here to take care of him. He couldn't just leave him here for someone to stumble across tomorrow morning. Well, he could, but that was just low.

Sighing, Harry placed the cloth aside, having finished getting all of the sick from Malfoy's face, and absently brushed the hair from Malfoy's face. It was odd, but Harry was just now having a hard time seeing how he and the other felt so strongly towards each other and always fought. Right now, as Harry watched his face, Malfoy looked so calm, peaceful, and fragile. It was nearly impossible to see him as the snide commenting prat that he was usually. In fact, right now, Harry felt like h-

Harry's thoughts were shattered as Malfoy moved and groaned, causing Harry to freeze as he watched the pale boy awaken. Slowly, Malfoy opened his eyes and, once gaining focus, settled on Harry and widened. Harry seemed to have been immobilized and didn't move as Malfoy stared in shock at the Gryffindor in front of him. He also didn't fail to notice the hand hovering right next to his face. After a moment or two he licked his lips and stuttered, "E- er. Potter? What-"

Harry seemed to have been slapped from his state as soon as Malfoy had begun speaking and jerked back violently, interrupting Malfoy as he spoke, a confused and shocked look on his face. Malfoy looked at him in surprise, not expecting the reaction Harry had given. The two boys stared at each other for a moment, neither speaking, before finally looking away. Harry hastily pushed himself to his feet and then, when Malfoy seemed to have slightly difficulty getting up, offered a hand, which was gladly accepted, and pulled the blond to his feet.

"Thanks," Malfoy said, eyes hidden by his pale bangs as he scuffled over to his bag to begin packing things up. Harry said nothing and instead began to hastily shove things into his bag as well.

When they had both finished putting their things away, Harry stood awkwardly staring at the black board as Malfoy fiddled with the buckles on his bag as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. Harry looked over at Malfoy sharply, surprised when a pair of stormy eyes rose to meet his at exactly the same moment.

"Er," Harry started just as Malfoy opened his mouth to speak as well. Both stopped expecting the other to speak. Harry gritted his teeth and said quickly "I guess I'll see you later. Bye," and sprinted from the room, not knowing why and not bothering to question it either, just running as fast as he could to the Dormitories.


	9. To Sweep Away

I'm sorry this isn't up sooner but I was away for the weekend for the 4th of July and didn't get the chance to put this up. Anyway! Here we go anyway!

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry, Cedric, or anything related. I only wish for those things. **

Chapter 9: To Sweep Away

"What are you doing, Harry?"

Harry spun around as he was half way across the front Hall, still in a hurry to get to the Common Room to face Cedric as he walked to the Great Hall. It took a moment for him to respond, seeing as he was slightly out of breath. "I'm just on my way to.... to..." he trailed off, having no idea how to end a sentence that didn't make sense to even him. "I have no idea," he finished, slightly bemused.

Cedric laughed slightly before walking over to the out of breath Gryffindor and taking his bag for him, at which Harry blushed and gave him a surprised look. "In that case, still up for being dance partners with me?" the tall seventh year asked, his eyes glinting warmly.

Harry mentally smacked himself in the face. He had completely forgotten about the dancing practice that night in leu of the time spent in the potions class room. He flushed even deeper in embarrassment and Cedric grinned sweetly down at him as he took his hand and led him into the Great Hall where the boys would be practicing. Just before they walked through the doors, Cedric leaned down close to Harry's ear and whispered, "You know. You're really cute when you blush."

Of course, at this Harry just blushed even more. One, because he was being complimented by an extremely handsome boy who was whispering seductively into his ear. Two, because he was being called 'cute,' which he didn't usually associate himself with being, seeing as it was what he would think of as being for girls.

Just as they were waking through the door, Cedric released Harry's hand, gave him a wink, and the two walked into the hall. Harry felt slightly shocked at first but then realized it was because Cedric didn't want to make him awkward by immediately presenting them as a couple or something like that. Harry silently thanked Cedric as the two of them separated and Cedric went to go join his friends and Harry wandered over to find Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Oi!" Ron yelled, seeing Harry and pushing his way through the crowd to get to his best friend as Harry turned to try to find where the red heads voice had come from. Upon spotting Ron he smiled and walked to meet him. "Where have you been?" Ron demanded, finally reaching his best friend.

"Potions lab," Harry replied, not wanting to go into details about his experience there. "The potion took longer than I expected it to. And then we had to test it so..."

Ron gave him a bemused look. "You guys actually tested it?" he asked, amusedly. "No one really had a good enough potion. Hermione would have if I hadn't mussed it up. So how was that?"

At that moment Professors Moody, Snape, and McGonnegal entered and Moody's loud gruff voice bounced off the walls like a hundred super balls, making everyone jump and Harry incredibly grateful that he didn't have to answer Ron's question.

"All right you lot!," roared Moody, clunking purposefully to the center of the hall, his magical eye swiveling as usual. "Get your partners fast or I'll turn you all into a bunch of ferrets!"

"Professor!" McGonnegal shouted indignantly at Moody's words as the scarred man laughed while the boys hurried to grab a partner. Harry, as he craned his neck to try to catch sight of Cedric, caught sight of Malfoy's blond streak of hair as he hurried into the hall and disappeared into the mass of boys frantically pairing up.

He jumped as he felt two strong arms wrap firmly around his waist. "Found you," Cedric purred into his ear. A few of the boys around them stared for a moment before looking for a partner again. Harry quickly spun in Cedric's arms and looked up at the grinning Hufflepuff. He couldn't think of anything to say and so just smiled up at Cedric in what he hoped was a convincing fashion. He was beginning to feel a little awkward being so cuddly in front of everyone. Cedric's grin widened and he pulled Harry slightly closer to him.

Moody's voice echoed out again over them all a moment later. "Alright! If you don't have a partner, grab the nearest free boy. Those paired move to the sides!" The crowd of boys all shuffled off to the sides hurriedly to reveal Moody and McGonnegal in the center of the hall. Snape had taken his post at the Great Hall's doors, probably to keep anyone from running away. Moody was leering around at all of them while McGonnegal had her head in her hand, shaking it woefully as if finding this whole thing absolutely ridiculous. Harry silently agreed with her.

"CHAMPIONS!" Moody bellowed, making everyone jump. "Out here! Pronto!"

Harry felt himself being pulled into the center of the floor by Cedric's arm and, glancing over saw Krum hurrying to the floor dragging a frightened looking Ravenclaw Harry recognized as Terry Boot from his year behind him. Silently he wondered if all the champions were closet gays a moment before he was hauled to a stop in front of a maliciously grinning Mad-Eye and an exasperated McGonnegal.

"Good men," Moody gruffed out, still grinning. "Sevvy!" he yelled, turning his face toward Snape. Harry didn't have to look to know that Snape had a look that could kill on his face. "Put on that music, boy!" It seemed that Snape felt that arguing would be completely fruitless though, seeing as a moment later, a scratchy waltz began to play around the hall.

"Now!" barked Moody, prodding at McGonnegal. "I want you to watch us as we demonstrate what yer to do." McGonnegal had a horrified look on her face, her eyes darting to Moody's fake leg in terror.

"Er, Professor," she interjected. It was the first time Harry had ever seen her look this uncomfortable and flustered about something. "Might it be a better idea for Severus to demonstrate?"

Moody paused in his preparing to take a position he seemed to think was one appropriate for waltzing before straightening up, grin back in place, and saying, "You know. I rather like that idea. I'm sure Severus has more waltzing experience than I do. Severus! Get over here! Teach these prats how to dance!"

From the grudging foot steps Harry heard echoing on the floor, it seemed Snape like the idea of dancing about as much as he liked doting on Harry. Moody walked noisily over to the place Snape had vacated at the door and watched as Snape took McGonnegal's hand emotionlessly and the two began to dance.

Harry looked in shock as Snape and McGonnegal swept around the hall in time to the music, all the while Snape monotonously counting out "1. 2. 3." to make sure the boys understood the timing of the music and the foot movements. After a minute or two, Snape and McGonnegal stepped apart and walked up to the four boys in the center of the hall.

"Your turn," Snape said curtly.

Cedric didn't need asking twice. Before Harry knew what was happening, Cedric had gently grabbed his hand and was moving him away in a waltzing motion around the hall in time with the music. Harry, caught off guard and not knowing what on earth to do, began to trip over his own feet and squeeked.

Cedric leaned down to him and murmured, "Listen to the music and move with it. I'm leading so just follow me. Don't worry."

Harry did as he was told and began to feel himself ease into the movements and rhythms Cedric led him along to. Feeling more comfortable, he looked up at his partner to be met with warm grey eyes gazing endless down at him. He blushed again, feeling self conscious, and Cedric smiled gently, leaning down slightly. "You're doing beautifully as well as looking it. Enjoying yourself?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Harry simply nodded and smiled up at Cedric as they continued to waltz around the Hall. It took a moment for Harry to realize that more people had joined the floor and he was surprised when a couple passed by them and one of them whispered to Cedric "Graceful as always, Ced." Cedric nodded and smiled in return as the boy and his partner passed.

Harry looked around at all the other couples. Krum and Terry Boot seemed to be doing pretty well, stumbling only now and then. Dean and Seamus moved awkwardly, stepping on each others feet every so often. Ron was attempting to dance with Neville and the two were failing miserably. Fred and George were, of course, being overly dramatic and enthusiastic as the spun around the hall theatrically, dipping and twirling unnecessarily with comically theatrical expressions as they hummed along with the music. Harry couldn't help laughing slightly as they passed and Fred winked as George fake-swooned.

Harry was definitely beginning to feel much more comfortable with this whole waltzing business as he was drawn about with Cedric, moving nicely in time with the music. And then the music stopped, the pairs stopped moving, and Moody's gruff voice boomed out again. "All right! Enough of that! Get to bed and rest up for tomorrow!"

Harry drew away from Cedric and let his arms drop as he looked up at Cedric. "Well," he started, not entirely sure how to finish. "That was really great. Thanks a lot Cedric." He smiled at the tall boy.

Cedric smiled warmly down at Harry and gently took his arm as the group began to walk out of the hall. Unnoticed in the crowd, Cedric slipped his warm hand into Harry's, making the raven haired boy blush slightly. Cedric's grin widened as they continued to walk. When they were clear of the Great Hall and everyone was heading off to their respective dorms, Harry turned to Cedric, not quite sure how to say good night. However, before he could say anything, Cedric squeezed his hand and asked softly, "Would you like me to walk you to your Common Room?"

Slightly surprised by this, Harry began to stammer. "Uh- um. Well. Sure. But, you don't know where-"

Cedric laughed softly, cutting Harry off. "I'll let you lead on this one," he murmured, his deep voice purring making Harry shudder slightly and feel slightly warmer.

"Oh," Harry said, lost for words and blushing foolishly. "Okay." And he began toward the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room with Cedric holding gently onto his hand as they made their way.

A/N: As much as I would love to keep updating these chapters as much as I have, I am beginning to run out of already finished chapters and am getting crunched for time on the new coming chapters. Therefore, I will updating on Mondays with new chapters instead of every few days. I apologize but doing this will help me not get massive writers block and also allow me to finish this sooner and get some of my other idea out faster!


	10. To Embarrass

A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing! I loved reading all the comments and feedback!

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. I just wish I did. *pouts***

Chapter 10:

Harry had barely closed the dormitory door before he was assaulted by three ginger blurs and three equally heavy bodies all belonging to a Weasley. Surprised, he stumbled back and fell against the wall from the impact and flailed his arms helplessly.

"Where have you been!" Ron practically yelled at him, revealing to be the middle blur of orange hair staring straight into his face, eyes alight with concern, interest, and annoyance all at once. "I've been waiting for ages to hear about how dancing with the fox was!"

The twins, who had been the two other orange blobs attacking Harry, burst into laughter at Ron's words and had to hold onto each other for support.

"Fox?" George wheezed out.

"Since when did you-" Fred started.

"Refer to anyone-" continued George.

"As a 'Fox' Icle Ronnie Kins?" Fred finally finished.

Ron flushed red to the roots of his hair. "Why are you two here anyway?" he snapped, trying to change the subject.

Fred and George both split into equally mischievous grins and looked to Harry, suddenly moving so quickly Harry couldn't react so that they were standing on either side of him, leering down at him. They each took one of Harry's hands and began to waltz him awkwardly around the dormitory, singing horribly the tune they had been waltzing to earlier that evening as they swung Harry around.

"Has he swept your heart awaaay," Fred crooned as he swung on Harry's arm.

"The prince of the castle," George continues the ridiculous song with his twin.

"Eyes so deep and stormy graaaay," Fred raised an arm as he jumped octaves.

"The Champion whom you danced with tonight!" George finally finished with a flourish before both he and Fred collapsed onto Harry's bed, pulling the raven with them and finishing their ridiculous repetoire by planting overzealous kisses on each side of Harry's face with a loud "MWAH!"

Groaning, Harry pushed the twins away, who were smiling evilly and as if they felt very accomplished. He looked at Ron, scowling. "Did you tell them?"

Ron looked affronted. "Wha-! No! Why would I tell them!"

The twins just laughed and rolled off the bed as Harry sat up.

"We didn't need to be told anything," George said, leering.

Fred grinned, draping an arm around his twin. "Yeah. The way you two were practically floating around the floor made it pretty obvious."

Harry blanched and Ron, in his defense, half yelled, "That's a bit of an overstatement! They just could dance well!"

George laughed. "Maybe. I suppose it might also be that we have excellent gay-dar!" He and Fred leaned into Harry's face grinning identically.

"Well, seeing as you two practically are," grumbled Ron.

The twins looked over at him, surprise on their features, before they bounded over to their brother and linked hands with him in a circle and began bounding in a loop of extremely altered ring-around-the-rosey. "We didn't think you'd notice, Ickle Ronnie Kins!" they chanted together gleefully before sandwiching their brother in a hug.

"Ickle Ronnie is so observant, isn't he?" Fred simpered to George who nodded.

"He's grown so much. I'm so proud," George coddled, faking tears welling in his eyes.

"Oh lay off," growled Ron, shoving the twins away, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

"But seriously," Harry said, staring at the twins. "Was it really that obvious?"

George shook his head in resignation and Fred sighed and looked at the ceiling in a way that suggests 'what on earth am I going to do with this boy.' Harry just stared at the two of them, waiting for an answer.

"Harry, when we passed you," began George.

"You have the most ridiculous look on your face," continued Fred.

"And Cedric was wearing this look that, well-"

"Pretty much had 'I want to take advantage of this innocent being'-"

"Written all over face."

Harry's jaw dropped in surprise and Ron started laughing, bracing himself on his bed to keep from from falling. The twins just smiled.

"Honestly, anyone who looked at your two and actually looked would have seen it," said George simply while Fred next to him held up his hands with an expression saying 'well, what'd ya expect?'

Harry sighed and flopped back onto his bed. Ron, having recovered from laughing and flopped down next to Harry, though sitting. "So, did you have fun tonight? I mean, hearing Fred and George," the twins snickered, "is one thing, but I was too busy trying to help Neville to see how you were doing."

Harry nodded, remember seeing his two fellow fourth years struggling.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling lightly and glancing away briefly before continuing. "I guess I did. I actually enjoyed it somewhat." Ron grinned at him. "Oh come on!" Harry scoffed at him. "You can enjoy dancing can't you!? Or is it forbidden for men to like dancing?"

"Harry," sniggered George. "I dunno if I'd call you a 'man' yet."

"More of adolescent sex boy," elaborated Fred, smiling thoughtfully and squinting at the ceiling, a manic glint in his eyes.

"Who just happens to have a Fox trailing him desperately," Ron finished, and flushed apologetically when Harry shot a scathing look in his direction.

"An 'adolescent sex boy'?" Harry repeated to the twins, raising his eyebrows in skepticism. They both turned to him, leering, and, as quickly as they had moved before, Harry now found them both on either side of him, uncomfortably close.

Fred reached out and stroked his face gently and said softly, "Would you rather just be a regular adolescent boy?" as George ran a hand up his back to play with the back of his hair.

Harry's eyes widened and he felt himself go stiff, suddenly feeling very awkward. Ron had scooted a few feet away on the bed and was gaping blankly at the scene in front of him. "Because that'd be such a shame, Harry," George purred against the shell of his ear as Fred continued to gently caress the contours of his face. "Why let such a gem as you go unnoticed. Especially when it's so delectable." George winked and Fred stuck out his tongue and they both quickly wrapped their arms around Harry and yanked him back to lie on the bed between them. Simultaneously they both whined out "Why does Diggory get to have all the fun?" before bursting out laughing at Harry and Ron's expressions and finally releasing the raven haired fourth year.

After a moment of recovery, Harry scooted back farther onto the bed away from where the twins were now sitting and laughing. "I'm never trusting you two ever again," he said, still slightly shaky from the moment before and trying to calm his breathing.

George leaned his head back so that he was looking at Harry upside down with a lopsided grin. "What ever gave you the impression you could ever trust us?"

"Honestly, Harry," Fred continued, leaning back to rest on his twin. "Have we ever truly given you reason to trust us?"

As Harry attempted to give some sort of proof that the twins were not molesters and actually relatively decent, Ron has somewhat recovered his ability to function and was breathing heavily with this eyes shut tightly, as if trying to calm himself down before he began to beat his two brothers. "You two," he managed out, eyes still closed. "Out. Now. No more molesting. Go."

The twins seemed to have had their fill of entertainment at the expense of their brother and his best friend and got up and waltzed out of the dorm, still grinning deviously. "Give Cedric our love, Harry!" the called together as the door shut behind them.

Ron suddenly made a flurry of movement and managed to send his shoe flying across the room to smack loudly against the door. Still breathing heavily he turned to Harry, shock and apology shining on his face. "I swear I'm not related to them," he rasped out, shaking his head slightly as he flumped down onto his bed and put his face in his hands. "I knew they were a bit wonky but, Merlin, that was just... wow."

Harry sighed and quickly collected himself and managed to smile at his best friend. "Don't worry about it," he said, shrugging and stretching his shoulders to release any tension. "Besides, they seem too involved with each other to bother with me."

Ron let out a frustrated sort of gurgle and rubbed his hands furiously through his hair making it resemble Harry's. He looked up with a sort of lopsided grin that could have passed for a grimace as well. "I honestly don't know what is wrong with my family. They all seem to be obsessed with you."

Harry raised an eyebrow and Ron's ears turned red. "Obsessed with me?"

Ron ran a hand through his hair again, making it messier than before even and sighed. "Well, Ginny's always been a fan. Percy wants to use you to get to the top of everything, and now it seems even the twins are interested. I just really don't want to know their agenda."

"Let's just hope we don't have any more surprises like that today," Harry said, sighing and pushing up from the bed to prepare for bed.


	11. To Dream

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter. I just own a crazy cat and a few jelly beans. **

Chapter 11: To Dream

"Harry."

Harry felt someone gently stirring him from his sleep and groggily blinked his eyes open to look up at the person waking him. Emerald eyes met stormy gray as Cedric's face swam into focus. Harry blinked again, this time in surprise and stared up at the older boy. "Cedric," he stammered out. "What are you doing here?"

Cedric smiled warmly at him and wrapped his arms around Harry, who only just realized that the other boy was lying next to him in bed, nestled under the covers and sheets. Harry blushed at the situation and even more when Cedric began to trace lazy patterns on his back. "Waking up with you, obviously," the seventh year replied and buried his face in Harry's hair, breathing deeply.

Harry was still trying to keep his heartbeat from racing when he felt another pair of arms wrap around him from behind him and he jumped in surprise, quickly looking over his shoulder to come face to face with Fred Weasley , who was smiling. "Sleep well, Kitten?" he purred out deviously. Harry fumbled for words and turned back to look at Cedric only to find he was no longer there and that instead it was George facing him, wearing a predatory grin as he began to run his hands along Harry's sides, making the raven squirm uncomfortably. "You're even more delectable when you squirm for us," George said seductively, moving closer to Harry.

Harry quickly squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop his mind from working, tried to make the others go away, trying to brace himself for the twins to do whatever they were planning. It never came. Harry remained frozen with his eyes firmly shut for a moment before cracking them slightly.

Cedric was gone. The twins were gone. Harry found himself alone in bed and sighed in relief. He rolled over onto his back, relaxing slightly and staring calmly up at gentle blue sky. He felt his eyes beginning to drift shut when he felt a lazy arm flop across his chest and a warm body nestle next to him, snuggling slightly. Harry blinked lazily and looked over at the new being.

Soft white blond hair greeted his vision and the fragile form of another boy he vaguely recognized slept gently against him. The gentle rise and fall of the other boys shoulders indicated a soft sleep and Harry smiled contentedly, feeling slightly protective of the person nestled against him. Harry reached out and gently brushed the whisps of hair from the other face, wishing to see the boys face and discover if it was as beautiful as the rest of him. The sleeping boy shifted and turned his face slightly, sighing comfortably as he snuggled closer to Harry.

Harry gasped silently as the hair fell away from the other boys sleeping face as he turned toward Harry. The face turned toward Harry was gentle and calm, well sculpted and with fine and delicate features. A small straight nose swept down from two lightly resting eyelids and beautifully curving brows. His mouth was set in a relaxed smile. Harry stared, captivated by the other boy sleeping close to him. Swallowing with difficulty, he tried to get his body to relax.

The boy suddenly stirred and blinked groggily, his eyes first alighting on Harry's torso, then traveling upward to connect with Harry's gaze. Silvery pools, still swimming with sleep, gazed into Harry's own emerald eyes and everything froze. The boy blinked once, the sleep clearing as confusion began to cloud his eyes. "Potter?" he said, furrowing his brows as he gazed up at Harry.

Harry swallowed yet again, forcing his throat to work, and continued to look into those eyes. Licking his lips in preparation he replied in the only manner that he knew, "Malfoy."

Malfoy continued to gaze up at him in confusion, still lying close to him with his pale arm stretched across Harry's chest. Harry tried to ignore the proximity of the other and instead focused on breathing and not doing anything drastic. Malfoy seemed to have noticed Harry's anxiety and he raised his hand not across Harry and gently brushed Harry's bangs from his face, revealing his lightning bolt scar for a moment before his hair fell back to shield it. Harry's eyes widened at the act and his breath hitched. Malfoy smiled softly, as he had been doing when asleep and continued to stroke Harry's hair.

Harry stared in amazement as the blond gently brushed his hair and smiled up at him. His stomach was churning with something he knew wasn't hunger and his heart beginning to speed up every second that Malfoy continued to gaze into his eyes. A sudden noise made Harry jerk his gaze from Malfoy's face and look to the foot of the bed.

Crimson eyes stared at him from a sickly white face with slits for nostrils and a cruel smiling mouth. Harry felt his blood run cold and the sensation of being smashed in the chest and he was careening down into drowning darkness.

A/N: I know it's short, but I promise the next chapter is oodles longer.


	12. To Wake Up

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. **

A/N: I decided to update this once more this week as a double. The last chapter is just so short I even have a hard time with it. This is a bit longer so hopefully it'll make up for the previous. Hope you like!

Chapter 12: To Wake Up

Harry sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and feeling cold sweat on his skin. Gasping for breath and trying to remember the dream he had been having, he glanced around. The light coming in from the tower window suggesting it was a just after sunrise. Feeling slightly more calm, he lay back on the bed and tried to remember what he had been dreaming about. However, as soon as he tried to grasp a part of it, it seemed to evade his consciousness and after a while, he simply gave up.

Rolling over to face the day, Harry squinted at the window pouring in the vague morning rays of sunlight. He sighed, remembering tomorrow was the end of the week and he could finally find some relaxation from his recent problems. Rolling back onto his back, he stretched his arms over his head, pondering what he would do once classes ended for the day.

A sudden noise caused Harry to jerk his attention back to the window. A small black owl was hovering at the glass, tapping in mid flight to get in. Harry quickly hurried to let the small bird in and relive it of its burden in the form of a small envelope secured at its leg. Having delivered the letter, the small bird flew swiftly from the room and back into the cold dawn.

Curiously, Harry noted the letter to be for him in a vaguely familiar script. Hesitantly, he opened the envelope and let the parchment slip out to fall into his waiting hands.

Harry,

I hope if you ever get mauled by bears.....

That was all it said, with a few scribbles and completely blacked out words. There was no signature on the letter. It was honestly the weirdest thing he had ever received in a letter. If this was some sort of code he was completely floored as to what it could mean, aside from gruesome animal attacks. He tried to think of someone who would have written the letter but could think of none. Sighing, Harry, folded up the letter and placed it in the photo album of his parents which resided in his bedside table for future thought. Confirming he wouldn't get any more sleep with the dawn streaming in now through the window, Harry reluctantly pulled himself from bed to shower before breakfast.

His mind quickly changed however, when upon entering the bathroom Harry caught sight of the twins, whispering to each other. Upon hearing him enter they turned to him, getting matching grins on their features. He promptly turned around and left, deciding to instead take a shower later. Feeling there was nothing better to do, he quickly dressed and went down to breakfast.

The hall was unusually deserted from what Harry was accustomed to. However, it being so early, this didn't strike him as odd. Yawning slightly, Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table and plopped down in front of an appealing row of toast. Selecting a piece and spreading marmalade on it, Harry glanced up briefly to see who was around. A few feet from him was what looked like a slumped over person. They appeared to be face down on the table and were unmoving save for the slight rise and fall of breathing. Harry furrowed his brows as he studied the unconscious person, trying to remember who had hair that blond in Gryffindor.

More out of early morning stupidity and curiosity that actual interest, Harry picked up a crust of toast from his plate and tossed it at the slumped person. It hit the other square on the side of the head, bouncing off and leaving a few crumbs. Smiling in amusement like a young child, Harry waited for a reaction. The other figure didn't move. Harry waited for a few more minutes. Nothing. Slightly disappointed, Harry turned back to his marmalade and toast. A second later something hit him rather harshly on the side of the face. Jumping in shock, Harry quickly spun around, looking for the attacker. No one else was in the hall save for an extremely bleary eyed Ravenclaw who seemed to be confused about the milk jug.

Confused, Harry looked back down at the table to see what had been thrown at him. His crust of toast lay about a foot from his plate. Apprehensively, Harry reached out to pick it up. It was definitely his toast. He quickly looked at the slumped figure. It hadn't moved. Feeling slightly bemused, Harry turned back to his toast, the other crust still held lightly in his hand. Absently, he reached for the coffee pot. He froze as his hand closed on the handle, and another hand. Hesitantly, Harry looked up to see who had hold of the coffee pot. The slumped figure had moved. It had extended an arm to grab the coffee pot which Harry was also currently holding. Harry gave an experimental tug. He was met with an extremely strong and forceful tug, startling him and, with a yelp, he launched from his seat to extend halfway across the table, now only about two feet from the slumped figure.

As the figure raised it's head Harry realized why he was having a hard time placing the student. He wasn't from Gryffindor. He also wasn't from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Harry stared dumbly at Draco Malfoy as the other boy glared at him though slightly bloodshot eyes. After a moment, the morning silence was broken. "My coffee." Harry took a moment to realize Malfoy had just spoken. Raising an eyebrow, Harry gave a very small tug on the pot. Malfoy glared and tightened his grip. "Mine," he growled from clenched teeth.

"Share?" Harry suggested. It seemed that at this hour in the morning the two reverted to childlike conversational tactics. Malfoy shook his head, still glaring at Harry. "Please?" Harry added.

Malfoy seemed to consider him for a moment, before looking to the coffee pot, back at Harry, and then resting his gaze on the pot, debating. After a moment he seemed to come to a conclusion and, ignoring or not registering Harry's grip on the pot, tipped the coffee into the mug closest to him, filling it to the brim with steaming coffee. Seemingly satisfied, he leaned forward and, not even bothering to pick it up, slurped a substantial about of coffee from the mug. Harry watched in fascinated horror as Malfoy grinned foolishly, his eyes drooping, before the Slytherin slumped sideways on the table, arm still outstretched and gripping the coffee pot.

Harry stared at Malfoy in disbelief as the other boy's chest slowly rose and fell. It seemed Malfoy had actually fallen asleep again. Feeling somewhat annoyed, Harry released his hold on the coffee pot, giving it up as a lost battle, and went back to his toast, brooding over the lack of coffee. A second later he stared in shock as the cup in front of him slowly filled with the black liquid and he slowly raised his head to stare at Malfoy, who was in mid yawn and about six inches from his face, seemingly having left his seat and traveled to Harry's side of the table and begun to pour him coffee in about twelve seconds without Harry noticing.

Malfoy finished pouring the coffee and then finished yawning, his eyes drooping dangerously again. Harry watched apprehensively as Malfoy clumsily put down the pot of coffee. Suddenly the blond slumped into Harry. With a slight squeak, Harry tried to lean out of the way, but instead found himself with an armful of Slytherin, again asleep and unexpectedly heavy leaning against Harry as he sat and struggled to throw him off.

"Get off!" Harry spat through his grimace as he attempted to shove Malfoy off of him. Malfoy said nothing and instead slipped to rest half of the bench and half into Harry. The Gryffindor felt his face being to burn as he stared incredulously at the blond currently snuggling into his lap. After the moment of shock, Harry's limbs seemed to understand the situation and began flailing and attempting to shove Malfoy off. "Get off! Get off you stupid git!" Harry half yelled, fuming. Leaning backwards and pushing with all his might, Harry managed to finally shove Malfoy off of him. The other boy wobbled up, somewhat sitting, before, cracking his eyes, still half asleep, seeing Harry, and falling back towards him.

"No!" Harry yelled, jutting out his arms and holding the wavering Malfoy at bay. "No! No lap for you! Go back to your own table!"

Malfoy's head lolled to face Harry, and his eyes opened slowly. Harry watched, bracing himself, as Malfoy blinked a few times, eyes still drowned in sleep. Malfoy's gaze traveled up and down Harry before finally resting back on his emerald eyes. The eyes squinted in confusion. "Harry?" Malfoy quietly said, obviously confused. Harry stared. Since when had they been on a first name basis?

"Potter," Harry supplied, trying to bring things back to reality and away from Malfoy addressing him informally and sleeping on him.

Malfoy blinked at him. He sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned heavily against Harry's arms and Harry grit his teeth with the effort of keeping the other propped up. "Harry," Malfoy repeated sleepily. Harry was finding the task of keeping Malfoy propped up becoming extremely tiring and his arms began to ache.

Suddenly Malfoy reached out and grabbed Harry, pulling him towards the Slytherin and crushing the two of them together as Harry yelped and struggled frantically trying to break from the pair of arms attempting to clamp around him and stop movement. "Let go!" He yelled, getting an arm loose and flailing it about, trying to release the other. A moment too late, Harry realized the consequences of his failing out to the side as he and Malfoy began to lean dangerously off the bench toward the floor. "No," Harry began, flinging his arm around the other direction to grab the table and finding it very inconveniently far away as he tilted farther and farther. "No, no, no. NO NO NO NO N-ACK!"

With a loud flump the two boys tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs, Malfoy pulling Harry closer to him and Harry clawing desperately with his free hand with a pained expression on his face. After his twentieth attempt to grapple with the floor, Harry gave up, breathing heavily on the floor, Malfoy's arms still firmly clamped around his waist. Looking down at the blond, Harry scowled, trying to shift his hips and legs in order to kick the Slytherin off him but no use, the other boy was lying on top of those as well.

Exasperated, Harry allowed his head to roll back onto the floor to rest, his eyes scanning around for people. Of course, as if to add to his troubles, the one person he least wanted to see was walking along the staff table, wearing an amused smirk.

"Good Morning, Potter."

Harry gulped, extremely aware of his position at the moment. "Good Morning, Professor."

"May I inquire as to what is going on?" Professor Snape drawled out, the smirk still tugging at his mouth.

Harry tried to swallow, finding words extremely difficult at the moment. "Morning exercises," he supplied, trying his best not to leave a question at the end of his sentence.

Snape smirked. "I see," he said, black eyes glinting. Without saying anything more, Snape turned and glided out of the Great Hall. Harry watched him leave, catching sight of the sky outside. It didn't seem like much time had passed since the sky was still pale.

Scowling, Harry dispassionately poked at Malfoy, causing the boy to squirm somewhat as he lay on Harry's abdomen. Feeling there was nothing else he could do in this position, Harry poked slightly harder. Malfoy twitched unhappily. Harry grinned in spite of himself. He prodded Malfoy sharply and he jerked, trying to escape the unwanted touches. Harry was about to prod him again when Malfoy looked up at him, scowling somewhat and slightly less bleary eyed. "Harry."

"Potter," Harry immediately supplied. It seemed they had begun a game of collaboratively completing Harry's name over and over.

Malfoy's eyes seemed to clear for a moment, and he began to blink furiously, before raising a hand and rubbing at his face feverishly. Harry watched him, wondering if he was actually waking up. After a moment or two, Malfoy looked back at Harry.

"Why am I lying on top of you, Potter?"

Harry almost laughed in happiness. Malfoy stared at his look of happiness in disbelief and confusion. "You called me Potter," Harry answered his look.

"When do I not?"

Harry was about to reply, thought better of it, and simply shook his head.

"Wha- what are you doing?" Harry stammered out five minutes later, still shocked at the Slytherin's close proximity and appearance at a table which wasn't his own.

"Looking at you," Malfoy responded. Harry blinked at him, missing the insincerity of the answer. Malfoy sighed and returned to a standing position. "I'm bored and no one is around. Then you showed up. What are you doing so early, Potter?"

Harry scoffed and, having composed himself, took a bite of toast. After chewing, he replied, "I could ask you the same."

"Crabbe fell out of bed. Shook the whole room. Once I'm awake I have a hard time going back to sleep."

Harry watched Malfoy for a moment, disbelieving that the blond was being so open with him. When Malfoy seemed to pay no heed to this, Harry leaned back and studied him.

"Something interest you, Potter?" Malfoy inquired, noting Harry's scrutinizing look.

"The fact that you're not being hostile and trying to hex me," Harry replied simply. "And you're telling me about your personal life."

Malfoy yawned. "It's early. I don't function well in the mornings. I'm practically delusional right now."

Harry, in spite of himself, almost smiled. "I see."

Malfoy stretched and snatched a piece of toast himself, biting into it casually. "In fact. For all I know, I am hallucinating and talking to air and not you, making me look quite ridiculous. However, as long as there's coffee and toast, at the moment I don't care." he chewed passively and rested his elbows on the table, slouching somewhat.

It was the first time Harry had ever seen Malfoy actually act passive and nonchalant, actually slouching, which was something he never did. "You sure it was Crabbe who fell out of bed and not you? Maybe you hit your head or something.""Ah ha," Malfoy drawled, taking another bite of toast and using it to gesture at Harry. "See, if I had fallen out of bed, I would have a great horrible lump on my head from where it collided with the floor. As far as I can observe, I have no such lump. Also, you have now mentioned it. On top of that, I now know I am hallucinating, because the Potter I know would have never asked me that sort of question so casually and shown the slightest concern in my well being. Therefore, I am, in fact, delusional."

Harry stared at the Slytherin as he continued to munch on his toast, gazing at Harry with a sort of distant expression on his face. Finishing the toast, Malfoy leaned back, brushed off his hands, folding his arms on the table, and, quite literally, slumped over to rest his head. Harry stared in amazement and horrified shock as the blond appeared to begin to take a cat nap on the table of his opposing house.

"Oi!" Harry said loudly, picking up a piece of toast and throwing it at the blond. "Go to your own table to sleep!"

Malfoy ignored him.

Harry huffed, stood up, grumbling to himself, and walked around the table so he was standing near the Slytherin. Feeling exasperated, Harry pointedly jabbed the Slytherin in the side with his foot. Malfoy grumbled and picked up the piece of toast Harry had thrown at him and hurled it at Harry's head. Harry dodged it easily and kicked Malfoy again. "Go back to your own table!" Harry snapped, losing his patience and feeling the lack of sleep crawl up on him. Malfoy grumbled but finally got up and staggered across the hall to his own table, where he promptly collapsed next to a giant pot of coffee.

Harry sat back down an picked up his forgotten toast, every now and then glancing across the hall to see if Malfoy had moved from his slumped position on Slytherin table. He half contemplated hurling another crust of toast across the hall to see if it would entice a reaction, but thought better of it when Professor Snape entered the hall and sat down at the Staff table yet again, beady black eyes surveying the Great Hall over his morning pastry.

However, now sitting in the almost empty Great Hall, Harry couldn't help but think back to Hermione's words from the previous night. He's been acting so, well, friendly. It's unlike him. Staring at the pale boy currently snoring softy into the table, Harry couldn't help but think that maybe she was right.


	13. To Fear

A/N: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING!!! XD They all made me feel bubbly and happy beyond belief! I'm sorry I'm so late in getting to them. I've been battling with being sick and traveling and such so I'm a bit behind. Anyway, I almost forgot today was Monday, so I hope this isn't too late for some of you. . Please Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter. Gosh this is getting old. I do, however, own the lego set I was playing with today. XD**

Chapter 13: To Fear

Harry was never one for being prodded in the side and now was no exception to that. He groaned and turned to glare at Hermione, who was sitting next to him with an annoyed expression.

"Would you pay attention!" she hissed, eyes narrowed as they flitted between him and Professor Bins. "If you don't stay focused I'm not going to give you my notes. Honestly, sleeping in class."

Harry glowered at her. "I did sleep much last night and woke up really early." He made to turn over and ignore her in favor of returning his head to his desk. "Bother Ron if you're so worried about our study habits."

"He's already asleep!"

"Then bother him!" Harry snapped, jerking his head towards Hermione in aggravation. She huffed at him. "And don't prod me anymore."

"I'm just trying to be helpful," she spat quietly.

"If you want to be so helpful, then stop and let me sleep!" Harry growled. "Honestly, all Bins does is wheeze like an old vacuum cleaner anyway, so what's the point of me just kipping for a moment."

Hermione looked like she would have liked to have said something but kept her mouth shut instead, glaring at him before returning her full attention to the spectral professor's waffling at the front of the room. Harry chanced a glance at Ron, who was just the same as five minutes ago, head firmly set on his desk and drooling slightly. Harry sighed and turned his head to the side, letting his cheek rest on the cool surface of the desk as he stared absently out the window.

After a moment his mind began to drift and the next thing he knew, Harry was being prodded again. Growling at being pulled away just as he was about to sleep, he glared at Hermione. However, it was Ron this time, and he was standing with his bag slung over his shoulder. Surprised, Harry looked around him to see everyone gathering up their things and leaving. Rubbing his face slightly, Harry shoved his books and materials into his bag and stood, nodding to Ron and Hermione. Hermione pointedly ignored him.

"You doze off?" Ron asked him as they walked to the Great Hall.

"Yeah," Harry replied, trying to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. "You did too, though I'm glad to see the drool is gone." Ron punched him lightly.

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed. "I don't drool."

"Yeah, and Snape's a woman."

"Am I now?" a cool and slimy voice said from behind them. They froze, eyes wide in terror as they all turned their heads in fear of what stood behind them. Hermione let out a slight gasp and Ron had turned white. Harry felt like his stomach had just eaten itself and thrown itself up. Snape stood behind them, staring down his nose at them in great displeasure. "I suppose I shall have to practice my curtsy then."

If Harry hadn't been fearing for his life, he almost would have laughed at the fact that the Potions Master was actually joking. Joking in the way a serial killer might sound joking, but still, it was surprising. As it was, he could do nothing but stare up in horror at the Slytherin head of house and wait for the fatal blow. Hermione seemed to be about to pass out.

"Please Professor," she started weakly, her hands shaking under her robes, making her sleeves quiver like an paint mixer. "We didn't mean-"

"Oh, I expect I know what you meant," Snape drawled out, scathingly and rolled his eyes. "Poking fun at others for your own entertainment. Filthy habits you seem to be developing." Ron gulped loudly and Hermione seemed to be about to hyperventilate. Harry was just about to try to say something, anything to stop his friends from passing out or having panic attacks, when a new voice floated towards them.

"Professor! Professor Snape!"

All of them turned towards the new arrival as the student sprinted towards them. When he came closer, Harry recognized Terry Boot as the boy breathed heavily, apprehension and urgency showing on his face.

"Yes, Boot," Snape said silkily. "Can I help you?"

"There's a fight in the Entrance Hall!" Terry panted, his eyes flashing urgently. "Please, they wont stop!"

Snape growled and quickly swept about to stride down the hall, Terry jogging to keep up with the Professor's quick strides. Harry, Ron and Hermione all, shared a look, the shock of the news seeming to have stopped the panic spreading through them to replace it with interest. They quickly followed Snape and Terry down the hall to the Entrance Hall. Catching up with Terry, Harry asked "Who is it fighting?"

"A sixth and seventh year," Terry said quickly as they rounded a corner. "I didn't catch who because I left almost as soon as I got there. They seemed to be really far into it though, I dunno if anyone is hurt. No one told me if they were using magic or not."

Harry drew back from Terry and quickly turned to Ron and Hermione, jerking his head to a tapestry that led to another way to the Entrance Hall, hoping to beat Snape to the fight and find out what was going on. In only a few moments they had arrived panting in the Entrance Hall. Hurrying forward, they pushed their way into the mass of students to see what was going on, Harry easily slipping between bodies with his slight figure and peeking to the front. He gasped slightly in surprise as he saw Cedric and Roger Davies panting heavily in the center of their audience, both wands raised and glaring daggers at each other.

It seemed that Snape was actually having trouble getting to the Entrance Hall because Harry watched as the two boys gasped for breath and regained their positions, seeming to have just finished a bout of fighting. Roger was clutching his knee for support and Cedric had one eye closed as blood trickled down the side of his face. Harry's stomach jolted at the sight of the two of them, beaten and battered and his mind raced in wonder at why the boys were fighting.

Suddenly, Cedric's eyes shifted and Harry locked with his gaze. Cedric continued to breathe heavily and grinned slightly at him, making Harry's stomach twist uncomfortably. Feeling extremely self-conscious (which he should have been used to by now) Harry quickly shifted his gaze between Cedric and Roger, trying and desperately hoping he wasn't being singled out. Roger was glaring heatedly at him, a snarl curling his lip, taking Harry aback slightly. Harry quickly turned the the person next to him to try to get an explanation for this and saw-

"Cho?"

"Hi Harry," she said, gaze still on the two boys, her eyes glinting somewhat.

Harry shook himself, faintly noticing the usual stomach flip-flop he had previously felt around the Ravenclaw Seeker completely absent, he returned to more pressing matters. "Why are they fighting? What's going on?"

Cho turned her face to him slightly, though still keeping her eyes on the boys in the center of the ring. "Apparently, Roger said something offensive to Cedric and they got into a really big argument. Then Roger accused him of cheating or something like that and Cedric told him he was no better and they just began to go at it. Never knew either boy had it in him!" Cho giggled slightly and grinned. "It's so exciting!"

Harry felt far from excitement, more of a sensation of deep worry and apprehension settling in his abdomen as if intent on turning his organs into mush. Both Cedric and Roger had returned their attention to their opponents again, though Cedric now was smirking slightly and Roger's snarl was much more pronounced. Cedric chuckled.

"Come now, Roger," he said calmly, though his voice had a slightly derisive edge to it, grating against Harry's ears unpleasantly and he flinched. "You have to accept when you've lost, be it a fight or something important."

"You filthy-" Roger began to snarl out but was interrupted as Cedric sent a spell his way. Roger quickly blocked it and fired his own at Cedric, their duel beginning again. "Insulting me like you're any better. Traitorous scum."

Cedric's face darkened considerably and he moved quickly towards Roger, sending both a spell and a fist toward the other boy. Roger was only able to block one and was sent flying backwards into the crowd as Cedric's fist collided with his jaw.

"Don't call me a traitor when you so blatantly are, you bastard!" Cedric yelled, fury on his face now as he stared intently at Roger as the other boy was supported by the people pushing him forward into the ring. Roger's lip was bleeding and he was scowling up at Cedric. "I'm done with this," Cedric spat, breathing heavily and stepping backwards. "We're done with this." He straightened and the two boys locked eyes for a moment before Cedric turned and began to walk to the circle of people, apparently making an exit. Harry watched him slowly move, half hoping, have dreading that the Hufflepuff would turn towards him and smile his usual happy smile.

"What's all this," a familiar drawling voice rang out and Harry's eyed widened as he saw Draco Malfoy pushing his was through the crowd near Cedric. "Who's fighting?" Harry watched the scene in surprise as the Slytherin struggled towards the front of the crowd and Cedric walked to the edge, people moving back to let him pass. A gasp beside him made him look at Cho, who was staring at Roger, who was staring at Cedric with his wand raised.

"Look out!" Harry yelled, but too late. Cedric turned at the voice and, in doing so, avoided the curse. However, what missed Cedric hit Malfoy, who was just behind Cedric, finally having made it to the front of the crowd. The spell hit him directly in the chest. Everyone froze and Harry watched in horrid fascination as Malfoy's usually frowning sneering face suddenly drained of all emotion. His eyes seemed to be going in and out of focus and, lethargically he looked down at himself, then up again into nothing, and then, for a moment, lighted briefly on Harry before they slid closed and he crumpled to the floor.

"What's going on!" A familiar commanding voice boomed and Harry's blood ran cold. Though he had never heard Professor Snape yell before he now realized why it was something he never wanted to hear. The rest of the gathered students seemed to think so too as they all began scrambling to get away from the two beat up boys and the prone body of Malfoy. Harry dazedly felt himself being yanked back by someone and staggered back. A moment later there was a tense silence.

"Diggory. Davies," Snape spat out, eyes burning in anger. "Detention, both of you. Report to my office immediately after dinner. We will discuss things then. Get out of my sight." The two boys swiftly took their leave, Harry watching them as they both exchanged a look before stalking off to their respective dormitories. Snape swept over to Malfoy, running his wand over him quickly in examination before he straightened. "Boot," Terry Boot, who had arrived with Snape, stepped forward. "Please get Mr. Malfoy up to the Hospital Wing. He is in need of treatment for a severe curse. I have matters to attend myself or I would do it myself."

Terry nodded timidly and Snape spun around and swooped back to the Dungeons, leaving the Hall to erupt into sound as soon as he had vanished. People began moving from the hall quickly, getting away from the scene. He felt a slight tug on his sleeve "C'mon Harry, you should go." Harry turned to see who had pulled him and saw Cho. He nodded at her and she smiled, letting him go and moving to join a group of her giggling friends. Ron pushed his way over to him, Hermione trailing behind.

"Well, we got a distraction from Snape and a blast to Malfoy. Can't be a much better ending to the week than that," Ron said happily, looking between Harry and Hermione.

"Ron, don't be cruel," Hermione said. "Although, considering it is Malfoy-"

"Do you think he's ok?" Harry asked, interrupting Hermione. Both Ron and Hermione stared at him.

"What?"

"Did you just ask what I think you asked because if you did I dunno where your head is mate," Ron said, looking at Harry as if he was mid-way Polyjuice transformation and resembled the Elephant Mans child.

Harry ignored him and looked over to see Terry struggling to hoist the unconscious Malfoy up and glancing around for help. His eyes met with Harry and pleaded. Mentally nodding, Harry moved over to the struggling boy, Ron choking on air behind him and Hermione limply staring at him. "Need a hand?" Harry asked Terry when he had come up to him and Malfoy.

"Yes please!" panted Terry, trying again to hoist Malfoy.

"Here, you grab the legs and I'll get the arms," Harry offered, moving to grab the Slytherin as Terry did the same. He looked over at Ron and Hermione who were still sporting looks of complete and utter shock, Ron's face twitching slightly. He jerked his head slightly. "You go on ahead up to the Common Room. I'm going to help Terry." Hermione moved first, shaking her head and pulling a still staring Ron up the stairs to the Gryffindor dormitories as Terry and Harry began to make their way to the Hospital wing.

After a few moments, Terry broke the silence. "Thanks. For helping me with this."

Harry, who had been absently watching as Malfoy swung slightly back and forth between them as they carried him, looked up at Terry and smiled. "No problem."

Terry seemed to be slightly uncomfortable. "You're not doing this just because you're a Champion are you?"

Harry stared at him. "What?"

"I mean," Terry seemed slightly uncomfortable. "With trying to win people's favor or anything." He sighed. "I know people were pretty against you earlier this year. I just thought-"

"I don't do things to win people's favor," Harry said sternly, frowning at Terry.

Terry looked at him for a moment before he smiled. "Good."

The rest of the walk up to the Hospital wing was in silence, Malfoy swinging between them. Harry was half tempted to lower his arms slightly and make Malfoys head drop to the floor just to see if he would wake up but decided his imagination would have to suffice. They quickly opened the doors to the Wing and Madam Pomfrey, her 'injured-student' senses peaked, came bustling up to them, huffing like an agitated goose.

"Students fighting in the halls, disobeying school rules, Triwizard Tournaments!" she quibbled, leading them to an empty bed where Malfoy was quickly deposited. "What's next? Do you know what he was hit with?"

Terry shook his head. "Professor Snape just said it was a nasty curse. We don't know what it was."

Madam Pomfrey seemed extremely rumpled by this and puffed herself up unhappily before bustling about with Malfoy. "You two can go back to your Common Rooms. I'll be sure to have him up and happy soon. Run along."

Feeling like a scolded child, Harry withdrew from Madam Pomfrey and her charge and bid goodbye to Terry before he swept his gaze over the rest of the wing. His eyes widened as they settled on a familiar figure. Hesitantly, he walked over to Cedric, who was sitting on a far cot, bandaging his hand. When he was about ten feet from him, Cedric seemed to realize he was there and jerked his head up to Harry.

"Harry," Cedric said in surprise, moving over slightly and quickly finishing in the bandaging of his hand to turn his attention to the boy in front of him. He had a large bandage across his forehead and multiple bruises, his robes slightly torn and a slightly tired look to his face. "What are you doing here?"

Harry gestured behind him to where Madam Pomfrey was fussing over Malfoy. "I brought Malfoy up with Terry Boot. Madam Pomfrey is trying to fix him up."

"Ah," Cedric said in understanding, his eyes flashing to Madam Pomfrey as she fussed over the Slytherin before moving over on his cot and patting the bedding for Harry to sit. Harry did so hesitantly and blushed slightly when Cedric leaned back on his unbandaged hand to look at him, stretching gloriously on the bed. He smiled up at Harry warmly.

"So to what do I owe to the pleasure of your company?" Cedric said, his usual warm voice washing over Harry, who internally shivered.

"I wanted to know if you were okay," Harry said, moving back somewhat to look at Cedric better. "And to ask what the fight was about."

Cedrics' face darkened and he turned his gaze from Harry, directing it at the cool December air swirling outside the window. "I'm alright," he said, somewhat distantly. "Davies stepped in matters he shouldn't have."

Harry shifted, curious. "Like what?"

Cedric shifted a sideways look at him. "He tried to manipulate me by using you."

Harry stared at him blankly. "What?"

Cedric sighed. "He tried to use my emotions against me and used my feelings for you as his weapon, threatening to slander both of us."

Harrys' blood ran cold. This was something he did need, want, or expect. It was like sitting on a cactus during an interview, uncomfortable and awkward and completely helpless. He swallowed. "Is he going to?"

Cedric smiled at him, his face melting back to its usual composure. "I told him if he tried to do anything, he have to answer to me." He grinned. "I think after out little tussle he might stay out of the way."

Harry frowned, feeling like there was something Cedric wasn't telling him. He was about to voice this when a soft groan was heard through the room. Both boys turned to look at Madam Pomfrey and Malfoy, who had begun to stir.

Getting up, Harry walked over to the Slytherin, Cedric following him, frowning slightly. "Did you figure out what the curse was?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey, turning to look at her.

"Unfortunately, yes,"

Unfortunately? Did Harry hear that right? "Excuse me?" he asked, looking at Madam Pomfrey in confusion, a slight feeling of apprehension coiling in his stomach.

"Unfortunately because it's a ridiculous curse and I have no idea why Davies would have cast it," the nurse huffed out, crossing her arms as she continued to bustle about with a few potions.

"What did he cast?" Cedric's voice asked, an almost anxious tinge to it. Harry turned to look at him.

"The Twist of the Heart," Madam Pomfrey said, disgust lacing her voice and Harry watched Cedric visibly stiffen at the words. Harry looked between Madam Pomfrey and Cedric in confusion.

"Excuse me but, what's that?" Harry was feeling distinctly left out.

Malfoy groaned again and raised a hand to rub at his face. Cedric hadn't moved since Madam Pomfrey had spoken and Harry was beginning to get worried.

"It forces the inflicted to publicly bear their soul and secrets," Madam Pomfrey explained, looking over at Harry with a superior expression. "It's a cruel thing to do, especially to teenagers. Makes the poor things bear their secrets to the first person they see."

Harry was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable hearing this. "Is there a counter curse for i-" He would have finished his sentence if Mafloy hadn't opened his eyes then. Well, opening his eyes wasn't that big of a deal, it was the fact that he opened them and that he was staring at Harry that was more of what was causing Harry's stomach to try to transform into a cat. The two boys stared at each other, Harry feeling distinctly awkward.

"No," Madam Pomfrey answered is unfinished question, bustling off. "You can go Mr. Malfoy. I expect that'll wear off in a few hours or so." And she was gone.

For a moment, the wing was bathed in silence, the lack of sound gnawing on Harry's ears before Malfoy spoke.

"Harry."

"Potter," Harry supplied automatically. Oh here we go again, he thought.

Malfoy was scowling, his mouth working as if trying to say something but not being able to. "Harry," he said again.

Harry scowled at him in confusion and irritation. "Potter," he repeated. "Come on Malfoy, don't do this aga-"

"Draco," Malfoy said, glaring and seemingly annoyed at his own mouths inability to keep shut.

"I didn't know you were on a first name basis," Cedric commented, looking between Harry and Draco, finally moving to stand closely beside Harry, frowning.

"We're not," Harry said.

"You're not," Malfoy said, glaring harder now at the floor.

"Can you shut yourself up or something?" Harry spat, turning back to Cedric.

"No," Malfoy replied, smirking slightly at Harry's annoyed expression.

Harry chose to ignore him and turned to Cedric. "What's going on?" he asked, desperately hoping that Cedric would give him a better answer than he was giving himself.

"He saw you first," Cedric said, looking between Harry and Malfoy, scowling slightly. "He can't tell you anything but the truth and their secrets for the next few hours or so." He glared at Malfoy. "Much as I pity you I can't help but be glad it's you and not me."

Malfoy grinned at him, sitting up and laying his hands across his knees. "Why? Does Delightful Diggory have dirty little secrets playing about him?" He sneered. "Oh how amusing. What would you have spilled if you'd be hit? Sordid love tangles?"

Cedric glared at the blond, shifting slightly away from Harry. "You're one to talk," Harry said, glaring at Malfoy.

"Am I?" Malfoy asked, leaning back and staring at Harry. "And hows that, Harry." He froze, frowned and opened his mouth again. "Harry." He scowled, pressed his lips together tightly. "Harry." He looked up furiously. "Oi! What'd you do? I can't say it!"

Harry stared at him, shocked. He had never been called by his given name by Malfoy so many times, save for the odd breakfast experience. Hearing it now was unsettling and-

Refreshing.

"You were hit by the Twist of the Heart," Cedric informed him, still glaring at the boy on the bed. "And you just so happened to lock eyes with Harry when you came to. You got yourself into this, don't blame him."

"I was what!" Malfoy yelled, panic edging his voice. "What do you mean I was hit. You can't be seriously telling me I have to tell Wonder Boy here anything he asks me! I wont have this!" Malfoy had his hands fisted in the sheets of the bed, his face flushed in anger and was panting slightly. "You can't be serious," he repeated, turning to look at Harry, desperation suddenly in his eyes.

Harry was shocked. "Does it really scare you that much?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them and he watched Malfoy's eyes widen. Trying to cover himself, Harry laughed harshly and crossed his arms. "Do you really hate me that much you can't stand me knowing one measly thing about you?"

Malfoy had dropped his head, his hair falling into his face, his shoulders tensed under his shirt and hands white gripping the sheets. He was shaking slightly and Harry felt Cedric move closer to him. Harry watched him, not knowing what to do with this suddenly new Malfoy in front of him. "Yes no," Malfoy whispered, Harry barely catching the words as they slipped from the pale boy.

"What the hell does that mean?" Harry snapped, annoyed by the answer which, in his opinion, made no sense at all.

"It means yes to the first and no to the second, you thick head!" Malfoy yelled, snapping his head to Harry and glaring at him furiously. He was still trembling and Harry felt his stomach churn. He'd never seen Malfoy like this before, so blatant, so blunt, so.... vulnerable.

"I don't want you knowing my secrets! I don't want you to know about me! You're not supposed to know about me! I'm not important to you so why should you know that!" Malfoy was fuming, his voice cracking slightly as he yelled at Harry. "How would you feel bearing your secrets to me? Pleased? First the self truth serum and now this! Honestly, it's like this school is bent on getting me to humiliate myself and you just have to be gifted box tickets!"

"What are you so afraid of?" Harry demanded, losing his temper. "That I'll find out something nasty?" He sneered. "I'll find out about how pampered you are at home? About how wonderful it is to be Slytherins Prince? What's the worst thing you could tell me, huh? C'mon Malfoy, let's hear it!"

Harry was breathing heavily by the time he had finished, glaring at Malfoy, who had turned ghostly white when Harry had finished. He began to tremble slightly, his lips pressed in a thin line as he looked at Harry, fear creeping into his eyes. "Go on then," Harry said, panting slightly, as he stared down at Malfoy, who was now shaking, his hands clenching the sheets almost desperately.

"Harry, I don't think you want to hear this," Cedric said, suddenly moving next to him and pulling him into his arms. Harry ignored him, though didn't push him away. Cedric looked down at him and tightened his arms in hopes that the raven would look up at him.

"Yes I do," Harry said, an overwhelming sense of curiosity and a desperate need to know burning inside him as he stared at the Slytherin on the bed.

Malfoy's eyes swam with fear and desperation and he clapped a hand over his mouth, fury leaking onto his features and attempting to battle his other emotions. Just as he looked about to say something, and Harry felt a surge of excitement pulse through his body, the blond launched himself off the cot, sprinting to the doors of the wing and slamming through them. Harry stared at the doors as he heard Malfoy yell something he couldn't quite make out as the other sprinted away.

Harry turned to Cedric, who was scowling at the door. "What did he yell?"

Cedric said nothing as he continued to glare at the doors. Eyes widening as a thought passed through his mind, Harry broke from Cedric's arms and sprinted the same way as Malfoy had.

"Harry! Wait!"

Harry ignored Cedric's call as he sprinted down the Castles corridors after the blond, a jolt going through his stomach when he recognized a familiar blond figure leaning against a wall.

"Malfoy!" He yelled. He saw Malfoy look up, shock blossom on his face as his mouth formed the word 'no' before Harry bowled him over, tackling him to the ground. Once again sitting on top of the Slytherin and holding his arms triumphantly to the floor, Harry grinned down at his prey. "Ha!" He said victoriously.

Malfoy was struggling under him, trying to buck him off and run, his teeth clenched and fear, panic, and anger flashing across his face. "Get off!"

"What did you yell?"

Malfoy tried to buck Harry off again. "Words," he spat out. Harry frowned, noticing the loop hole in the curse. He told the truth, just not the truth Harry wanted to hear.

"What are you so afraid of?"

Malfoy froze, slowly turning his eyes to Harry, his silver orbs glistening in shock and something else Harry couldn't quite place. Harry waited for what seemed like an eternity before the blond finally spoke.

"Rejection."

A/N: Here's the fun question, what were Cedric and Roger fighting about, eh?


	14. To Question

**Disclaimer:**** I do NOT own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd not be scrounging the internet for the 4th episode of Avatar 3rd season because I'm too poor to but it. CURSE YOU INTERWEBS! *blanches* No! Wait! I didn't mean it! *runs after it crying***

Chapter 14: To Quesiton

Harry stared down at Malfoy, the pale boy lying still beneath him, arms held firmly by the Gryffindor as the raven sat firmly atop him, preventing him from escaping. Malfoy stared back up into the green eyes, his own silver still swimming in warring emotions of panic, fear, and something Harry couldn't identify.

"What?" Harry breathed, hardly trusting his voice. He could hear his heart beating fast against his ribcage as he focused on Malfoy.

"Rejection," Malfoy repeated, staring back at Harry, somewhat determined, not breaking eye contact as he lay limp beneath the other. "I fear rejection."

Harry's mind was reeling. This was not the answer he had been expecting from Malfoy. Though, when he thought back to just minutes previously, he honestly couldn't explained what he had expected. It all just flared curiosity, confusion, and a clenching in his stomach he couldn't identify. "Why?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Malfoy swallowed, taking in a sharp gasp of air, and Harry could have sworn the light tinge in his cheeks was a blush, though that might have just been a result of the sprinting down the corridors they had just done. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, bowing it slightly as if to hide himself from Harry. He began to shake again and Harry recognized the signs of him battling the curse as he had done before sprinting away previously. However, with Harry sitting firmly on top of him pinning him down, his escaping didn't seem quite as plausible this time around.

Harry leaned down slightly, trying to get a better look of Malfoy's face, and repeated softly, "Why?"

Malfoy shuddered, his trembling under Harry. It sent spikes up Harry's spine and he felt his face heating up at the realization. He leaned down further trying to see Malfoy's face. Malfoy had his eyes clamped shut, his cheeks flushed slightly, and short little pants were coming from his mouth. Harry's chest burned at the sight as he watched the Slytherin underneath him.

Finally Malfoy opened his eyes, silver orbs glistening as they looked up at Harry. "Because-" Malfoy seemed to be giving into the curse and Harry waited with bated breath for the truth, his chest tightening for reasons unknown. "Because I-" He swallowed again, before turning fully to face Harry, staring straight into his eyes. "I don't want to be hated by you."

Harry stared down at Malfoy, his mind warring as he looked into silver pools shining from a set face. Malfoy's cheeks were lightly tinged and Harry now wondered if it really was from all the running. Malfoy's mouth was slightly parted and Harry could lightly feel the pale boy's breath ghosting over his face. Suddenly something flashed in those eyes and Harry found his back being slammed into the floor as Malfoy swiftly switched their positions, now seated firmly atop Harry and pinning his hands on either side of his face.

Shocked, Harry stared up at the Slytherin, who was staring down at him, his eyes flickering between one emotion and another. "I don't want you to hate me!" Malfoy said again, gripping Harrys' wrists tightly. Suddenly Malfoy growled, swooping down until his face was mere inches from Harry's. Harry froze and watched with wide eyes as Malfoy glared down at him, their breath passing over each other. "Happy now, Harry Potter? Happy to have forced me to say something? Feel proud of yourself?"

Harry felt guilt spread through his stomach and his eyes widened in shock and regret, surprise washing over his face. "Malfoy, I-"

"Get off him!"

Suddenly Malfoy was ripped off of him, his nails scratching Harry's wrists lightly as he was wrenched away. Tearing himself away from his fogged state, Harry quickly sat up. Cedric was pinning Malfoy to the wall, eyes furious and mouth curled into a snarl as he held Malfoy by the throat, pressing him into the stone. Malfoy was glaring back at the older boy, his hands clawing at Cedric's as he fought for release. "You filthy snake!" Cedric spat.

Harry watched in shock as Malfoy scratched and fought to get free as his face slowly drained of color. "Cedric, stop!" Harry yelled, realizing Malfoy couldn't breath at all. After a moment more, Cedric gruffly released his hold and stepped back with a growl, Malfoy falling to the floor, coughing violently. "What are you doing?" Harry demanded, walking up to stand between Malfoy and Cedric.

"Stopping what shouldn't be," Cedric replied, still glaring down at Malfoy. Harry furrowed his brows in confusion, opening his mouth to speak. However, before he could get one word out, Cedric had turned, advanced on him and begun dragging him down the corridor away from Malfoy. Harry, shocked let himself be pulled along, glancing back to see Malfoy, staring after them, his eyes seeming dead... defeated. Harry felt a bolt shoot through him and he turned to Cedric, opening his mouth to tell him to stop but stopped.

Cedric's face was angry. For the first time Harry almost feared the older boy, submitting to walking swiftly with the other Champion as they swept down the corridor. Harry didn't protest as he was pulled into an empty classroom, the door slamming shut and remained where he was as Cedric strode past him to slam his hands down onto one of the desks. After a few deep breaths Cedric seemed to calm down slightly, his shoulders relaxing and his head dropping slightly. Slowly he turned around to Harry, who hadn't moved.

Seeing Harry rigid to the spot, Cedric chuckled softly, pushing himself from the desk and approaching Harry, a hand reaching out towards him. Harry remained frozen, not wanting to see Cedric angry again. Cedric's eyes widened and he suddenly stopped moved all together. "I'm sorry about that." His voice was gentle and soft, brushing over Harry's ears like a soft caress. "I didn't mean to lose my temper, I was just jealous I guess."

Harry blinked. Had Cedric just said he was jealous? Harry looked up at Cedric, astonished, and was met with his dark grey eyes gazing back down at him, a soft smile on his face. "Wha-" Harry wasn't even sure what he was going to say but never got to find out either as Cedric wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and brought him gently to his chest, burying his nose in Harry's hair. Harry tentatively wrapped his arms around the older boy, pressing his face into Cedric's chest and closing his eyes.

He remembered back to the day before, when he had agreed to dancing with Cedric, how warm and protected the other boy made him feel. And how when they had danced, Harry had been happy, led about by the other Champion. Though he knew he didn't love Cedric as Cedric said he loved Harry, he was beginning to feel a growing affection towards the older boy. Though the thought scared him a little, it also began a warm feeling in his stomach and chest. Maybe he could try this.

After a moment, Harry sighed and shifted. Turning his head to the side slightly, he said, "I've never had someone jealous over me before."

Cedric gave a soft laugh which Harry could hear and feel resonating though the others chest. "I dunno about that, Harry. It's probably happened before."

Harry looked up at him, pulling backwards to see Cedric's face. "Well, this is the first time I'm aware of it then."

Cedric smiled gently down at him and quickly bent down to press his lips tenderly against Harry's. Unlike the first time they had kissed when Harry had been shocked and frozen, now he didn't pull away or freeze, but let the older boy gently caress his lips. Letting his eyes flutter closed, Harry tentatively kissed back. He felt one of Cedric's hands gently skitter up his back to rest behind his neck while the other bandaged one stayed resting gently on his hip. Cedric drew back slightly and Harry opened his eyes, looking up at him. He shyly smiled.

Cedric's eyes widened slightly and the next thing Harry knew, Cedric was kissing him again, pressing his mouth to the his urgently, pulling Harry's body to his own and cupping the back of Harry's head with his hand. He was fiercely pushing their mouths together, his tongue running along Harry's lip. Harry gasped at the sudden intense contact and felt Cedric's tongue dive into his mouth, tasting him. The taller boy moaned, wrapping an arm around Harry and pulling him as close as possible. Harry felt his eyes begin to drop as Cedric stroked his tongue with his own and enticed it into play.

Letting his eyes fall closed, Harry fisted his hands into Cedric's shirt, pulling himself into the kiss, deepening it as much as he could, fueling the heat beginning to beat through his body. He moaned when he felt a hand slide up his back and pushed back against it, gripping the shirts fabric, relishing the sensations that began to shoot through his skin.

The need for air brought them apart, Harry panting slightly and looking up at Cedric with hooded eyes, Cedric's own eyes half mast as he breathed gently, face still just inches from Harry's own. "Don't look at me like that," he whispered, running a hand down Harry's side, making him shiver. Harry looked up at him, wondering what he meant. Cedric grinned. "You make me want to do things I shouldn't," he breathed, brushing his lips over Harry's briefly before kissing him again.

Harry responded immediately, his tongue meeting Cedric's and playing in an instinctual battle. However, before a winner could be decided, Cedric broke. Harry moaned at the loss only to gasp when Cedric began to trail kisses along his jaw and to the sensitive skin just below his ear. The hand behind his head trailed down and began to pull at his robes, gliding easily below the hem of his shirt to caress his bare side, the feel making Harry arch and gasp. The bandaged hand on Harry's hip squeezed gently, Cedric's thumb rubbing small circles through the cloth. Harry felt the heat in his body rise and flare through him everywhere he was touched.

"See?" Cedric breathed into his ear, making him shudder. "Look what you're making me do." Harry opened his eyes hazily, panting slightly as he stretched his hands to grasp around Cedric's shoulders. Cedric chuckled, lightly flicking his tongue over the shell of the younger boy's ear, making him jerk. Smiling, Cedric drew back to look down at Harry, who was trying to get himself under control. Harry looked up at him, eyes still slightly hazy and lowered his hands somewhat.

"Sorry," Cedric said, bowing his head a little and withdrawing his hand from Harry's heated skin. "I got carried away."

Blushing, Harry shook his head, dropping his gaze to try to hide his embarrassment, his hands clenching automatically in the fabric of Cedric's shirt. He felt Cedric place a gentle kiss to the top of his head and closed his eyes at the feeling, pulling Cedric close and resting his head on the firm chest. Breathing deeply, Harry's mind began to move again. "I should be getting back to the Common Room," he said, though not letting go of Cedric.

"Mmm, probably a good idea," Cedric agreed, rubbing his nose in Harry's hair, also not moving from his position. Breathing in again, Harry finally managed to pull himself away from the Hufflepuff, keeping his eyes slightly lowered, his face tinged with pink on reflection of what had just happened. Cedric smiled down at him and gently closed his uninjured hand over one of Harry's, which were still balled in the fabric of Cedric's shirt.

Seeing as neither of them seemed to be taking any sort of initiative, Harry took a breath and raised his eyes to Cedric, smiling. "I guess I'll see you later then." He unclenched his hands from Cedric's shirt and dropped them to his sides.

Cedric smiled and quickly slipped one of his hands into Harry's. "How about I walk you to your Common Room?" he asked softly, squeezing Harry's hand.

Though the idea tempted Harry greatly to walk back to his dormitory with Cedric, he didn't want to be seen parading through the school with a Champion who had just previously been seen fighting in front of half the school. Though he didn't mind having Ron and Hermione know that he was close to the Hufflepuff, he didn't quite want to flaunt it about. Smiling and shaking his head up at Cedric he said, "No, I'm alright. I'm fine."

Cedric looked somewhat surprised, though his features softened quickly. "Alright," he said, giving Harry's hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. "I'll see you later then." He grinned down at Harry. "Send me an owl if you want to see me."

Harry blushed lightly and nodded, beginning to move from the classroom. However, just as he reached the door, he felt a hand close over his wrist and he turned to look up at Cedric and felt soft lips closing over his. It was a chaste kiss, unlike the previous one, and ended quickly. Cedric said nothing as he left, simply giving Harry a soft smile before he turned from the classroom and disappeared down the corridor. Making his own way to Gryffindor tower, Harry let his thoughts wander, occasionally noticing a few snowflakes that fell outside the window.

The Yule Ball was still two weeks away and Harry was beginning to actually feel somewhat excited for the event. Though it wasn't the sort of excitement that seemed to be raging through every girl in the castle, he couldn't help but wonder what sort of night it was going to be. Since Cedric had asked him to the ball his life seemed to be getting more and more interesting. What with the sexuality, kissing, random fighting, Malfoy-

Malfoy.

Harry frowned. Again his mind flashed back to what Hermione had said, about him acting strange. It seemed more apparent now than ever Malfoy's shift since the beginning of this year. Though Harry had been too involved in his own problems due to the Tournament, he couldn't help but notice that the blond hadn't been quite as malicious. Sure, the 'Support Cedric Diggory: Potter Stinks' badges had been an exception, a rather pestilential exception, but aside from that, Malfoy's overall demeanor concerning his treatment of Harry seemed to have shifted.

Harry paused at a darkened window, gazing out onto the lightly snowy grounds, not really seeing them. This whole week seemed to have turned things upside down. He had always though he had understood Malfoy, known the boy to be an arrogant prat, determined to make Harry's life miserable. But this week, it didn't seem quite like that so much. Of course, he wasn't about to run off and ask Malfoy to join him in a jolly old tea party, but he couldn't help noticing his own feelings towards Malfoy begin to shift. He had seen a completely different side to the pale boy, a side that showed emotions other than arrogance and pride, concerned about others, and didn't want Harry's hatred.

Sighing heavily, Harry resumed his steps toward the tower. He was just turning down the corridor of the Fat Lady when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning in surprise, he came face to face with the same Slytherin that had been recently occupying his thoughts. Malfoy looked awkward, his face betraying his discomfort as he looked at Harry. This sort of thing was exactly what Harry had previously been thinking about. Malfoy had been acting strange, and this was just seeming to top the list, right next to his behavior earlier that day.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked, surprising himself when the usual bite wasn't present.

Malfoy looked away swiftly and removed his hand from Harry's shoulder. "It's the effects of the curse," he muttered, shifting slightly on his feet. "I apparently have to be near you or something." Harry almost saw a slight flush cross his cheeks but he instead blamed it on the lighting. Malfoy looked back up at Harry, seeming embarrassed. "It's not like I want to be following you around!" he said, voice rising a little defensively. "It's just like I'm forcefully pushed after you."

Sighing, Harry looked at the other boy, running a hand through his hair and vaguely realizing he probably looked a bit ruffled, the after effects from his make out session with Cedric. "I thought this thing was supposed to wear off after a while," he said, glancing back at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who seemed to be dozing.

"Well, seeing I was just dragged here following you because my body felt like it was being embraced by one of Hagrid's Skrewts, I'd say it's still working," Malfoy snapped, folding his arms over his chest.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "So if I ask you any question you have to answer me?" he said, remembering the curse's properties.

"All previous cases would say so," Malfoy sighed.

Harry paused for a moment, wondering how legitimate Malfoy's claim was. Trying to think of a question Malfoy would typically never answer, Harry lighted on one. "Have you ever been kissed?"

"Of course not, Potter," Malfoy answer, almost immediately, before his eyes widened in shock and he looked at Harry sharply, embarrassment and anger shooting through his eyes. "What the Hell!"

"Guess you are telling the truth," Harry said, leaning against the wall, and looking Malfoy over.

"Glad to see you're convinced," Malfoy huffed, tossing his bangs from his eyes angrily and looking away from Harry. He glared at the wall, mouth set in a line. "It's not like I like having to be around you. If I could help it I would."

Harry rolled his eyes, pushing himself from the wall and walking down the hall in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor Common Room. Malfoy sputtered and paused a moment before following him, glaring at him as he caught up.

"Didn't you just hear what I said? I-"

"Have to be near me, yeah," Harry finished for him, continuing to walk away from the boy, feeling irritable. It had been a long day and, considering the lack of sleep he got last night, he really wanted to just go back to his bed and fall into it. However, though the idea of leaving Malfoy outside the portrait hole was tempting, he highly doubted the blond would be compliant with that, more than likely the other would try to clamber into the Common Room after Harry and then not only would he have a ton of awkward questions to answer, but he would be inadvertently telling all of Slytherin house where the Gryffindor Common Room was. Of course, Harry knew where the Slytherin Dormitories were, but that didn't make him feel any less about preserving the secrecy of where he slept. "That's why we're going to the library."

Malfoy's previously scowling face flitted surprise. "The library?"

"Yeah," Harry said, passing tapestries and paintings as he made his way through the school. "We are going to look up that stupid curse and find out how long it lasts." He turned to Malfoy. "I don't know about you but I'd like to get some sleep tonight. And according to this curse, you have to be there if it's still active." Harry noticed with some satisfaction that Malfoy's face had paled considerably and he looked shocked. The blond happily remained silent as they strode quickly to the library.

The few students that were still about the castle gave the two boys strange looks as they traveled, the absence of fighting obvious. Even Madam Pince eyed them suspiciously, though that might have been more to the fact that they were going to the library on a Friday evening instead of enjoying the start of the weekend. Minutes later found both Harry and Malfoy, sitting somewhat apart, stacks of books in front of each, pouring over the texts in the dimming light.

Half an hour later, Malfoy's voice startled Harry out of his scanning of his third book. "Find anything?"

Sighing, Harry shook his head. "Nothing." He paused halfway down 'Hideous Hexes and Crazy Curses' to look up at the Slytherin. "How did you know about it? You knew what it was when Cedric mentioned it."

Malfoy looked up over the cover of his book. "Flint told me about it," he answered, referring to the Slytherin Quiddich Captain of years past. "Said he'd love to try it out on Wood sometime."

Harry frowned. "Why's that?"

"Wanted the Quiddich tactics."

Harry snorted at the obvious answer, and turned back to his searching. He was pulled away again however when Malfoy spoke again. "Why Diggory?"

Harry looked back up at him in shock, first thinking he had heard wrong, though the words couldn't really be confused with many others. Seeing Malfoy looking at him plainly however flushed any thought that he was possibly hearing things. Sighing and turning back to the book, Harry turned the page. "He asked me to the Yule Ball."

"No shit Sherlock," Malfoy replied, rolling his eyes and propping his head on his hand, looking over at Harry. "I'm asking why you said yes and are doing... things with the Hugglepuffle."

"Hugglepuffle?" Harry said, looking at the Slytherin in surprise. Malfoy shrugged and Harry decided to ignore it. "He's not a bad person. I might as well give him a chance and see if things go well." Harry sighed and looked back at Malfoy and saw the other boy frowning at him. "What?"

"So you'll just go out with anyone who asks you?" Malfoy asked skeptically.

Harry frowned back at him. "Of course not," he replied shortly. "I know Cedric a bit and he's not a bad person. What's so wrong about giving someone a chance?"

"Nothing," Malfoy said in response, tilting his head slightly and smirking. "I know you too," he said.

"No, really?" Harry snorted.

"Would you date me too if I asked you?" Malfoy asked, smirking broadly as he looked down the table at Harry, who gaped at him.

Frowning, Harry turned back to his book. "Did I not emphasize 'not a bad person' enough?"

"Actually you didn't emphasize it at all," Malfoy replied, and Harry glared at the response to his rhetorical question. Malfoy was still smirking at him. "In fact you just kind of threw it in there, like a passing though. You know how people say something like 'I went shopping today, went home, turned on the television, fed the cat, etc. etc.' You said it like that, as if it was unimportant."

"You know, you're rather obnoxious," Harry told him flatly.

"You're rather fun to annoy," Malfoy stated, laying his head on the table and continuing to stare at Harry. "Besides, rhetorical questions are the same as normal questions, I have to answer them you know."

Harry glared at him. "Then shut up and get back to looking for some way out of this curse mess."

"It doesn't make me have to answer to commands," Malfoy pointed out, grinning as he observed Harry's anger rising. Harry did his best to ignore the eyes on him as he threw aside 'Hideous Hexes' and snatched another volume. He was just opening the front cover when Malfoy spoke again, finally saying something Harry was actually happy to hear.

"Found it!"

"Finally!" Harry said, jumping to his feet and moving over to Malfoy to look over his shoulder. Sure enough, there on the page was 'The Twist of the Heart' in faded ink. "So what does it say?"

"I never knew you couldn't read," Malfoy said, turning to look at Harry, who was leaning over the Slytherin's shoulder. Harry scowled at him. The blond sighed, and looked down at the page, eyes scanning it. "It says here that the curse lasts depending on the strength of the castor and the inflicted. It typically will wear off in four hours but in rare cases it can last up to four days."

"Four days!" Harry yelled, causing Malfoy to flinch away from him and Madam Pince to glare at him from her desk like a disgruntled vulture. Lowering his voice, Harry hissed, still glaring at the page in hatred. "So you're saying you might have this thing for four flaming days!"

"Hey, you're not the one who has to deal with it!" Malfoy snapped at him, glared over his shoulder at the Gryffindor. "You think I'm going to be skipping about happily when I have to keep answering every question you ask me and can't be more than 100 feet from you without feeling like an atomic bomb!"

Harry blinked at him. "You know about atomic bombs?"

"Yes," Malfoy answered. "Muggles, though stupid and ignorant, do possess a few dangerous things. Like atomic bombs, biological warfare, and microwaves." At Harry's look Malfoy answered before Harry could ask. "Know thine enemy."

Harry scowled and looked back at the book, scanning down to the bottom of the page. "Wait," he said, seeing something. Malfoy looked back at the book as well, trying to find where Harry was looking. "It says that the curse can be broken early if-" though he never finished reading. Both boys stared at the book before looking up at each other.

Malfoy swallowed as he looked at Harry. "I would love to run away right now if I could," he said horsely.

_The Twist of the Heart can be broken early if the inflicted kisses either the person they saw first after the curse was administered or the person they love already._

Harry chuckled awkwardly, drawing back from Malfoy quickly and rubbing a hand feverishly through his hair. "Well, that's easy, we'll just go find who you like and have you snog them." His awkward laughter faded lamely as he looked down at Malfoy who was staring up at him in both embarrassment and terror. "So do you like anyone?"

Turning away from Harry, Malfoy nodded at a bookcase in front of him, eyes still wide and disbelieving. "So let's get to it. Is there a problem with this?"

"I'm not doing that."

Harry gaped at him, his hand dropping from his hair.

"What do you mean you're not doing it!"

"Are you deaf!" Malfoy hissed, swiftly glaring at him. "I'm not doing it! Screw it! I'd rather be stuck trailing you for four days!"

Harry was feeling angry again. "And you think I want you shadowing me around the school? Shove off! Just go do it already so I can go to bed!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because I can't!"

Both boys were yelling now and Madam Pince had swooped up from her perch among her nest of books and was moving over to them, beady eyes shining dangerously.

"Sure you can! What would make it so difficult?"

"They're already dating someone!"

Harry was about to yell in plain anger when both he and Malfoy were grabbed by the scruff of their necks by Madam Pince and hauled out of the library with the woman screeching that library were a place of silence and not stupidity. The two were left to fume in the hallway, glaring at each other. Though they had returned to their familiar etiquette of interaction, Harry felt strangely annoyed that it had returned to this. Huffing to and crossing his arms over his chest in a show of displeasure, Harry snapped, "Trust you to like someone unavailable."

"You're dating Diggory."

Harry glanced up at him, frowning. "He asked me."

"Didn't mean he was available."

"What?"

Malfoy shrugged and began to walk down the hallway, stopping at the end of it and looking back at Harry, who was staring at Malfoy in shock in alarm. Malfoy sighed, his shoulders sagging and he seemed to deflate, suddenly looking very tired and fragile. "Come on," he said, his voice no longer angry and now sounding brittle and worn. "I can't be farther than 100 feet from you, but I'll be damned if I don't get some sleep tonight."

Harry looked at him for a moment, legitimately considering just leaving Malfoy in the corridor to deal with the curse but his conscience gave in eventually and he walked over to Malfoy, following him as he was lead through the castle. After a few moments, Harry realized where they were headed. "Why are we going to your Common Room?"

Malfoy looked at him in surprise. "I'm tired and want sleep. But besides that, how do you know where it is?"

Harry sighed, not wanting to tell the Slytherin of his, Ron's and Hermione's escapade in second year with the Polyjuice Potion to try to get the blond to admit to being Slytherin's heir. "Not important. Why are we here?"

"I want to sleep." Malfoy answered plainly.

Harry glared at him, realizing that Malfoy expected him to sleep here as well. He stopped walking and frowned at Malfoy, who likewise stopped and turned to look at Harry. "I'm not sharing a bed."

"I didn't plan on it."

Harry shifted before beginning to walk again, now side by side with Malfoy as they made their way to the Slytherin Dormitories. "Good." When they arrived outside the wall the Common Room lay behind, Malfoy looked at Harry pointedly. Rolling his eyes and mumbling irritably, Harry plugged his fingers in his ears and turned away as Malfoy say the password and the wall began to move away. Just before he entered enemy territory, Harry paused, remembering the book's words about the curse. Malfoy looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not kissing you," Harry said sternly.

A/N: I'M SORRY!!! I know people might have been expecting something of a confession or more between Harry and Draco but I just couldn't do it this chapter. I'm trying to take things slow and not have them just suddenly ripping off their clothing and shagging. *Taps chin* Though it is tempting... THANKS FOR REVIEWS!!! XD


	15. To Disguise

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Harry Potter. I did however, create the game Mad Dogs which is still running rampant through the local elementary schools. But that doesn't get me anywhere. **

Chapter 15: To Disguise

"Where were you last night?" Ron asked Harry as the ruffled looking Gryffindor walked into the boys dormitory. Harry glanced over at him, and Ron raised an eyebrow at the deep circles under his friends eyes and the extremely unhappy expression. Harry said nothing as he moved toward his trunk and opened it, digging through his things and dragging out a few clothes. "Oi," Ron said, getting a little agitated at Harry's behavior.

"It's a long story, Ron," Harry said tiredly. Moving about bed grabbing a few things and tiredly putting them in a bag. Ron stared at him, obviously not happy about being brushed off.

"Well, it is Saturday. It's not like you don't have the time to-"

"Would you hurry up? I'm getting hate glares."

Ron stared in shock as Draco Malfoy slipped into the Dormitory, facing outside the room, looking uncomfortable. Turning his face from outside, he saw Ron, whom he stared at for a moment before turning back to Harry, who was bent over his trunk again.

"What's taking you so long?"

"Oh shut up, would you," Harry snapped, glaring at the Slytherin.

Ron was in shock. He swiftly grabbed his wand from his bedside table and pointed it at Malfoy, hauling the bedcovers over his pajamas as a sort of fabric barrier. "What the Hell are you doing here? Get out!" Ron was fuming. It was enough of a shock to wake up and see that Harry had never come home last night, but having a Slytherin, let alone Malfoy in the room where he slept, was down right unpleasant. He turned to Harry in disbelief. "What is he doing here!"

Harry sighed, giving up on whatever was in his trunk, as he stood up and turned to Ron. "Look, you remember the fight yesterday, yeah?" Ron nodded. "And Malfoy got hit with that curse from Davies." Ron nodded again, though frowning deeper and glaring at Malfoy. "And I helped take him up to the Hospital Wing."

"You did what?" Malfoy said skeptically.

Harry ignored him and continued. "Well, I was still there when he woke up. Apparently he was hit with 'The Twist of the Heart' and, since I was the first person he saw, he had to answer any question I have and can't be more than 100 feet from me without being in pain."

Ron sputtered. "Then lock him in a room and let him deal with it!" he yelled, gripping his wand angrily. "Don't bring him here! I sleep here!"

"So do I!" Harry yelled back. "It's not like I enjoy this! How would you like having Malfoy follow you around all the time?"

"That's why you should have locked him in a broom closet!"

"I do so love being referred to in the third person in conversations," Malfoy commented from near the door. "It always makes me feel so important."

Both Gyffindors ignored him and continued to glare.

"Look," Harry said, grabbing the things he had gathered and wrenching a few more articles of clothing from his trunk and shoving them into a bag. "It wears off in a few days. I'm sorry you can't deal with it. I've got to deal with it so I've had to stay in the Dungeons with lot of stinking Slytherins." He hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and glared. "I just needed to get a few things for the rest of the weekend, that's why he's here." With a final look, he turned angrily from the his best friend and stalked past Malfoy out of the room.

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow at the flustered Weasley. "This is why I make fun of you," he said, before turning and following Harry out of the room and down the stairs. He ignored the looks he was getting from the few people in the dormitory at this early hour of this morning. They had been lucky Harry hadn't been seen coming and leaving the Slytherin dormitories. They had slipped in last night when no one was there and left early this morning to avoid detection. "Lovely friend," he commented to Harry as they walked down the corridor. "I can see you why keep him around."

Harry glared at Malfoy. "I could say the same about yours," he retorted. "Sneaking about to avoid them at all costs definitely makes them keepers."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I hope this thing doesn't last four days, I don't know how much longer I can go with pulling late nights and early mornings." He yawned, running a hand through his blond hair.

"I'm surprised you were up at all," Harry commented, remembering the previous mornings odd start. "You were barely alive yesterday."

Malfoy stopped walking, turning to him, surprised. "Yesterday?" he repeated, confused. "What happened yesterday?"

"You were sitting at the Gryffindor table really early and I threw toast at you while you hogged the coffee," Harry recalled for the blond, watching the others eyes widen. Harry grinned. "You said you thought you were delusional though."

Malfoy grunted and continued to walk to the Great Hall. "Apparently, seeing as I can barely remember it." He turned to Harry. "Except the toast. I remember flying toast."

Harry laughed. It was strange, walking with Malfoy and not fighting, although it seemed to be happening more and more as of late. Harry never imagined that he would ever walk to breakfast with the blond Slytherin on a Saturday morning, let alone be planning to sleep in the same room as him. And yet, as strange as it seemed, it wasn't as uncomfortable as he might have thought it to be. Reflecting back on his thoughts from the previous night, he realized that not only was Malfoy acting differently, but he, Harry, was as well. Though it was mainly a direct result of Malfoy's change, it was still a shift. Looking back at their spat the previous night, Harry found himself feeling awkward and, though it was instinctive, it wasn't comfortable for him anymore.

Arriving at the Great Hall, Harry instinctively moved to his own table and sat down, looking up in surprise when he saw Malfoy take the seat in front of him. Seeing his look Malfoy rolled his eyes and grabbed the nearest pot of coffee, pouring himself a cup. "Really, two mornings in a row won't kill you," he said, closing his eyes and breathing in the aroma wafting from the cup.

"Just as long as you don't fall asleep on me again," Harry grumbled. Malfoy paused in the act of raising his coffee to his lips and stared at Harry. Harry shrugged. "You did that." Harry explained briefly, watching in amusement as Malfoy gaped at him over his coffee.

Setting his coffee down without even drinking it, Malfoy rubbed his face tiredly, looking at Harry through his bangs. "Anything I else I did I should to know about?"

Harry contemplated for a moment. "You took all your clothes off."

"WHAT!"

"Kidding," Harry laughed, looking across at Malfoy who had jumped from his seat, looking panicked and breathing heavily, his coffee cup shaking on the table. Glaring at him, Malfoy sat back down, grumbling into his coffee. Harry grinned. "No, you didn't do much else, aside from not leave me alone." Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing, calming down slightly though still panting. They sat there for a while, not speaking, Harry munching on his toast and Malfoy nursing his coffee, occasionally taking a bite of toast himself.

After Harry's fifth piece of toast, he looked up at Malfoy, the other boy currently on his third cup of coffee. Frowning, he swirled the contents of his own cup, wrinkling his nose at the dregs. "Do you really need to drink that much coffee?"

Malfoy looked up at him, something akin to surprise slitting across his face. "It depends on the day and situation," he answered, lowering the cup and fingering the handle. "Are you going to make a habit about scolding me about my daily caffeine consumption?"

Harry stared at him. "Why would it become a habit? The curse should wear off in the next two days right," Harry said, looking at Malfoy, frowning slightly.

Malfoy shifted in front of him. If Harry didn't know any better, he would have said Malfoy was uncomfortable. Scowling down at his now empty coffee cup, Malfoy said, "I dunno. I just don't want to be badgered about my health by the likes of you."

"Like I've ever given you a reason to think I'm concerned about you," Harry huffed, grabbing the coffee pot and refilling his mug.

"You brought me up to the hospital wing," Malfoy pointed out. Harry scowled, adding more than the necessarily amount of sugar to his coffee. "And you're not leaving me to writhe in pain from this curse-"

"Though I'm having second thoughts right about now," Harry pointed out irritably, not quite sure why hearing all this from Malfoy was bothering him so much. Honestly, it wasn't like he actually cared, right? Anyone would do that. "Anyone would-"

"-Take care of their arch rival?" Malfoy interrupted him, raising an eyebrow.

Harry glared and busied himself with another piece of toast, fiercely attacking it with marmalade. "You started it," he grumbled, feeling slightly annoyed at the way this conversation was veering directly into the 'danger large rocks' zone.

"How's that?" Malfoy asked, seeming startled and slightly self-conscious. He was looking at Harry apprehensively and Harry frowned. As if things hadn't been getting weird enough, now this.

"You were the one who started acting differently this year," he said tentatively, gauging Malfoy's reaction as he spoke. The blond had stiffened ever so slightly and an almost invisible tinge had come across his face. If Harry hadn't been looking so carefully he wouldn't have noticed it. "Being nicer to me and-" He was suddenly faltering. "And stuff."

Malfoy said nothing, just stared at Harry, eyebrows furrowed somewhat in displeasure and Harry waited, whether for an answer, change of topic, or distraction he didn't know or care. Something had changed in the atmosphere between them and, though he had been noticing it progressively, it was palpable at this moment. It was almost as if his breathing would break something, change it forever. What scared him most was that he felt excitement about that.

However, the shattering came quickly with Malfoy's curt voice. "We all grow up," he said, turning swiftly from Harry and looking up at the ceiling. "It's not my fault I've matured beyond petty rivalry."

Harry scoffed. "You're fourteen, I doubt you can truly call yourself mature."

"Says the boy who can't walk properly in the morning and broods over small fights," Malfoy shot back at him, pouring yet another cup of coffee.

Harry chose to ignore Malfoy's words, instead directing his comments to the hot beverage. "You're going to go mental with all the caffeine."

"Oh goodie," Malfoy said, spooning some sugar into the dark liquid and shaking his head in mock glee, his lip curled in a sort of sarcastic smile. Sighing, he leaned back in his seat. "So," he began, surveying Harry over the table. "What do you typically do on the weekends?"

Harry stared at him. "I dunno, stuff," he answered, shrugging.

"Are you going to elaborate or do I have to play guessing games?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him as he crossed his arms.

"Wha-"

"I'm stuck with you, remember?" Malfoy reminded him, looking slightly exasperated. "I figured I might as well find out what you do on the weekends and see if I can survive the thrilling life of Wonder Boy here."

Harry scoffed. "Don't tax yourself," he said, reaching over his plate to grab a banana. Sitting back he thought for a moment. What did he do on the weekends? Well, to be honest he usually spent time with Ron and Hermione, doing homework and hanging out in the common room. Typically, the weekend was spent to relax and rest for the upcoming week. He frowned when he remembered the lack of sleep he had been getting. That wouldn't be helpful in the future. "Usually do homework or spend time in the common room."

"Riveting life you lead," Malfoy commented, waving his spoon about lazily as he watched Harry. He paused as he looked over at Harry. "Honestly, I'm enraptured."

Frowning, Harry crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the blond opposite him. "Fine, then what does the great Malfoy do that's so exciting on the weekends then."

"Was that a question?" Malfoy had resumed he spoon waving.

"Are you going to answer?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Malfoy sighed and propped his chin on his hand. "Pretty much the same as you," he replied. "Though with less lame nothing. I try to at least do something interesting."

"Like what?" Harry inquired, skeptical of what Malfoy might try to feed him.

"I dunno," Malfoy said, watching his spoons progress. "Go flying, walk about the grounds, explore the castle, annoy you," he looked over at Harry and smirked.

"Oh positively thrilling," Harry grumbled, leaning his arms on the table and slouching onto them. The lack of sleep from the past two nights was nagging on his mind. "I see my life obviously pales in comparison to the thrilling tales of Malfoy."

"I don't see you coming up with much," Malfoy retorted, slapping Harry on the top of the head with the spoon. Harry glared at him and the offending utensil. Glancing up at the ceiling, which was currently forecasting a grayish morning for the hall, the blond sighed. "We should probably begin to head out." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Before everyone else trudges down to breakfast and has an coronary at seeing a Slytherin sitting at the Gryffindor table."

"I could always switch over to the Slytherin table and continue glaring at you," Harry suggested, internally smirking.

"Oh yeah," Malfoy snorted, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure they'd love to have you there." He laughed dryly. "You'd be picked apart within minutes. Honestly, are you ever not pretentious?"

"Who said I was being pretentious?" Harry asked, frowning.

"No one," Malfoy snapped, pushing himself to his feel and brushing a hand through his hair. "I'm just calling the cat black."

"So you're calling me pretentious?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"No." Well, he thought he knew the answer.

"Then what are you saying?" Harry was beginning to become more and more confused and surprised by this new side of Malfoy which he'd never seen before. It was almost making him wonder if he had ever really known what to expect from Malfoy in the first place.

"I'm saying sitting at the Slyherin table would confirm all their suspicions that you're a pretentious bigot who believes himself to be the prince of the castle," Malfoy said simply, taking one last draw from his coffee cup.

"And you think I'm a pretentious bigot then?" Harry asked, standing up himself and brushing the crumbs of toast from his sweater.

"No," Malfoy said, looking sideways at Harry. "I just think you act like one sometimes."

Harry stared at him. "This whole honesty thing is weird," he said, giving Malfoy a suspicious look.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at Harry's look. "If it had worn off at this point, do you think I'd still be hanging around you?" He gave Harry a pointed look.

Harry shrugged and walked with the blond boy out of the Great Hall. "So what are we doing today?"

"Do I look like a tour guide?" Malfoy said, looking tiredly over at Harry. "I'm not planning an itinerary or something." Harry stayed silent as they began to supposedly wander around the castle for a bit before Malfoy stopped by a window, looking out onto the grounds, rubbing his face tiredly. "Let's go to the Library or something," he said, dropping his hands to look at Harry. "I've got an essay to do for Arithmancy anyway and might as well get working."

Harry shrugged and the two began walking back through the castle. He paused however when he realized they were heading in the direction of the dungeons instead of the library, causing Malfoy to pause and turn to look at him. "What?"

"We're heading back down to the Dungeons why again?" Harry asked, not at all desirous of returning to the Slytherin stronghold for another time that day.

"How would I get my homework done if I don't have the books," Malfoy pointed out, cocking his head at Harry. Scowling, Harry resume following the Slytherin down to the depths of the castle, grumbling to himself slightly. As they moved farther into the bowels of the castle however, Malfoy suddenly froze and hastily shoved Harry into an empty classroom, hastily and quietly shutting the door almost completely.

"Wha-"

Harry froze when Malfoy suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth, face serious and scowling at the door and Harry, aside from his struggling to push Malfoy off him, felt annoyance bubble up inside him. Trying to rip Malfoy's hand from his mouth and glaring at the Slytherin, he was shocked when Malfoy suddenly turned to him, his eyes fierce commanding silence. For once in his life, Harry found himself obeying Malfoy, ceasing his struggling and going limp against Malfoy's hand.

Very faintly, he could make out the sound of footsteps approaching their location, and Harry suddenly understood why Malfoy had pushed him into the classroom. It would be a problem for the Slytherins to find out that Harry not only knew the location of their common room, but had constant access to it as of current because of Malfoy. As if they didn't hate him enough.

Keeping his silvery eyes trained on the door, Malfoy waited stiffly for the people in the hall to pass by the room and only released Harry when he was sure they had left for sure. Harry remained where he was as Malfoy silently checked the hall to make sure the way was clear before he returned to Harry, scowling.

"This is going to feel strange," the blond said, raising his wand.

Instinctively, Harry dived out of the way, dodging whatever Malfoy was about to cast on him and drawing his own wand and pointing it at Malfoy. Malfoy however rolled his eyes exasperatedly, and dropped his arms in frustration, walking over to Harry, who swiftly backed up, hitting a desk.

"If I had wanted to curse you, I would have done so last night while you were sleeping on my floor," Malfoy said quietly, staring at Harry as if telling him that of course chickens lay eggs. Harry eyed him warily, wand still raised. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I'm going to disguise you," he explained, folding his arms over his chest. "Otherwise, not only will I be cursed for suspected insanity, but you'll most likely be ripped to shreds." His lips twitched slightly. "And we don't want our champion to be hurt now do we."

Harry frowned, but lowered his wand none the less. Seeming satisfied, Malfoy raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. Flinching slightly, Harry closed his eyes and was surprised when the strange feeling of having cool brushes against his skin, like the smooth bristles of a paint brush gliding across his skin. Opening his eyes when the feeling began to lesson, he jumped. Malfoy was standing directly in front of him, reaching out towards his face and much too close for Harry's comfort.

"Wha-" Harry started to say but found himself faltering as Malfoy gently removed his glasses from his face. Harry blinked as the world around him blurred and he blinked a few times, squinting at the black and blond blob that was Malfoy. "I can't see," he said, blatantly, trying to figure out what Malfoy was doing from the indistinct motions of the blob.

"No shit, Sherlock," blob Malfoy said as Harry felt fingers at his throat. Jerking away he was brought short, realizing Malfoy had a firm grip on his tie and keeping him from moving any farther. "Hold still, would you?"

Reluctantly, Harry allowed Malfoy to remove his tie, mess with his hair, and fuss with his clothing. "Am I ready yet, mother?" he snapped at Malfoy, glaring at the blurred boy, feeling uncomfortable and ruffled.

Malfoy had straightened and was surveying his work. After a moment he pocketed Harry's things and grabbed the Gryffindor's hand, pulling him from the classroom.

Sputtering Harry yanked his hand back, holding it as if burned. Blob Malfoy sighed, and turned around (well, moved at least). "Look," he said, sounding slightly exasperated. "Either you hold my hand like a good little Gryffindor or you trip over your own feet and introduce your face to the walls." Yep, exasperated. "You're choice."Harry cocked his head to the side. "I thought you enjoyed watching me bump into things," he said, squinting at Malfoy in hopes that if he narrowed his eyes enough, he might be able to see the Slytherin. "Wasn't that why you wanted me to fall onto my Transfigurations book the other day?" Ok, so squinting wasn't helping much. "What changed?"

Malfoy seemed to pause for a moment before Harry heard and fuzzily saw him shift. "This is different."

"How's that?" Harry probed, enjoying this new game.

Malfoy didn't seem to be liking it as much. "Because firstly, I'd rather not be seen in the company of a bumbling oaf who needs to bounce off walls to navigate." He seemed to be gaining confidence as he spoke as well as annoyance. "And secondly, I'd really rather not have you recognized. With you squinting like that no one will know you, not even Weaslebee."

Harry scowled at the name but said nothing. Malfoy grabbed him by the hand again and led him quickly from the classroom. They had walked several paces before Harry realized fully that he was holding hands with Malfoy. Thus far, the only other person he had held the hand of had been Cedric and the nice traffic cop who had helped him across the street when he was seven. Either way, he could count on his hand how many people had held it and it was currently being gripped by one Draco Malfoy. Harry furiously fought the color rising to his face and beat himself mentally as to the cause.

"Malfoy," he said at last, when he was sure they had to be near the Slytherin Common Room. Either that or Malfoy was getting him lost on purpose. Malfoy stopped walking and Harry, being half blind, bumped into him slightly.

"What is it?" Malfoy asked, turning to Harry.

Harry looked at the blond figure for a moment, wishing for once, that he could actually see the other boys face. "Er." Of course now he had no idea what to say. Wonderful.

Malfoy seemed to understand though. "Stop being a prat," he said, turning to the wall in front of them and dragging Harry a few more steps. "Just stop worrying about it."

"But holding hands is like, I dunno, couple stuff," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. He settled for squinting to hide his embarrassment and prayed Malfoy wouldn't notice.

Malfoy turned towards him slowly, hand still gently holding Harry's. For a moment he was silent, then he scoffed slightly and turned away again. "Trust you to act like a four year old. Sneakoscope."

For a moment, Harry though Malfoy was losing it, but the random word was quickly answered with the grating of stone against stone as the Slythering Common Room was revealed to them. They hastily made their way into the room and were halfway across the floor, hoping to get to the dormitories before being noticed when a voice rang from the couch by the fireplace.

"Oi, Draco!"

Harry felt like hexing himself in the foot as Malfoy paused and turned towards the voice, dragging Harry along behind him. Harry squinted as hard as he could at the couches to try to figure out who was there, all the while praying they didn't recognize him.

"Good Morning, Pansy," Malfoy's cool voice slid easily over the people around him. Harry suddenly stopped feeling so strange as he felt that sound dip into his ears. What?

"Surprising to see you up so early," the blob of Pansy Parkinson said, apparently looking Malfoy up and down.

Malfoy shrugged. "Why bother wasting the day in bed?"

"You do it every other weekend," Pansy retorted, sounding amused and skeptical at the same time. Harry squinted at her, trying to make sure this was the same Pansy he saw on a daily basis. She seemed far too friendly from what Harry was used to. It seemed his squinting got him noticed. "Who's that, Draco?"

For a moment, Harry thought they were done for as he felt Malfoy's hand stiffen over his own before it relaxed slightly. Harry found himself slightly impressed by Malfoy's nonchalance and fast answer to the question that Harry would have fidgeted and stumbled over. "This is Davis Greenwood," Malfoy lied quickly. Harry was suddenly exceedingly happy that Malfoy only had to tell him the truth. "He's a fifth year in Ravenclaw. He's helping me with studying for Charms. You know how I've been falling behind."

It seemed that the quickly conjured fable was bought as Harry watched Pansy nod and turn to him. "I'm sorry we've never met, Greenwood," she said, extending her hand to Harry. "I'm Pansy Parkinson."

Harry realized it would be impolite not to take the girls hand and quickly took her small hand in his own not currently being grasped by Malfoy. "Nice to meet you," he said, making sure to lower his voice slightly, shaking her hand briefly and dropping it quickly. He was feeling a entirely uncomfortable being social with the Slytherins.

Pansy, it seemed had frozen. Harry attempted to squint quizzically at her, though whether he managed it or not was up to debate.

"Something wrong, Pansy?" Malfoy asked from besides Harry.

"You're," she seemed to swallow before continuing in a slightly harsher voice. "holding hands."

Both Malfoy and Harry were quiet for a moment before another voice rang out.

"Oh come on, Pans," it said, and Harry turned swiftly to the new speaker. "He broke up with you. Get over it."

"Shut up, Blaise," Pansy snapped, facing the other boy.

Blaise shrugged and walked up to Harry and Malfoy, holding out a hand. "Nice to see our boy here moving up and on," he said, practically grabbing Harry's free hand and shaking it firmly. "Blaise Zabini. Wanted to thank you for getting him out of his moping and stupidity." He grinned. "Nice to finally see him out and about. I expect you're the one whose been keeping him busy."

Harry said nothing, but remained standing awkwardly next to Malfoy, still holding onto his hand, though now more aware of that than anything. What was he getting into here?

"We're not dating," Malfoy's cold voice sliced through the air. Both Pansy and Blaise looked at him and Harry and, though Harry could only see blurred shapes, he could tell the other two were frowning. "He lost his contacts while we were studying in the library and his glasses are back in his common room. He needed me to get through the castle."

Pansy looked triumphant at the explanation. Blaise looked disgruntled. He shot Harry a look before trumping back to the couches and flinging himself onto one dramatically. "Well, if that's the case," Pansy piped up, jumping to latch onto Malfoy's arm. "Would you go to the ball with my Draco?"

Malfoy scowled. "I've already told you, Pansy," he snapped, beginning to walk away and dragging Harry with him, gripping his hand tightly. "I'm not getting back with you. Go bother someone else."

Pansy it seemed, wasn't going to be deterred. Malfoy didn't get her to let go of him even until they reached the boys rooms, finally shaking her off with a low threat. He opened the door to his dormitory angrily and yanked Harry inside. Feeling incredibly awkward, Harry stood by the door as soon as Malfoy had released his hand to rummage about for his Arithmancy text. Finally finding it, he shoved it in his bag and turned to Harry.

However, just before he could say anything, the door banged open and Blaise walked in. He looked between Malfoy and Harry, who were right next to each other about to leave and yet standing awkwardly.

"Am I interrupting something?" Blaise asked, shutting the door slightly and making to back out.

"Shut up, Blaise," Malfoy snapped, grasping Harry's hand and dragging him from the room swiftly. Harry heard Blaise snigger as he left the room and wished he was anywhere but here, being dragged about by Malfoy, facing the most awkward conversations he'd ever experienced.

Malfoy's anger seemed to be a rather impressive driving force, however, and they were soon out of the common room and halfway up the dungeon passageway to the entrance hall before Malfoy stopped. Sighing, he leaned against the wall and let go of Harry's hand. Harry fought the urge to rub the skin where Malfoy had been touching. Things just kept on getting stranger and stranger it seemed.

After a moment, Malfoy seemed to have calmed down enough and Harry felt his glasses being shoved into his hands. Feeling immensely relieved, he put them on to look up at Malfoy, in sharp focus and clarity. Malfoy was frowning at him.

"What?" Harry demanded, feeling annoyed at everything that had just occurred and finding it mostly the fault of the blond standing in front of him.

"Forget the library," Malfoy said, turning from him and walking up the passage again. "Let's go out onto the grounds."

Harry felt annoyed that the whole reason they had gone to the dungeons in the first place was to go up to the library, but thought it pointless to bother arguing. A stint outside sounded nice to him if he was honest to himself. So, feeling it useless to argue with the blond, he shrugged and followed Malfoy up the passage and soon found himself blinking slightly in the soft winter sunlight. Malfoy had paused at the top of the steps and Harry came up beside him quietly. Malfoy was still frowning slightly as he turned to look at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked for the second time that day under the Slytherin's stare. He was feeling slightly uncomfortable, a sensation which had nothing to do with the crisp and biting winter air. He wished he had brought his cloak.

Malfoy seemed to want to say something but instead turned and walked down the steps. "Nothing."

"You know," Harry said as he follow Malfoy, who was walking in the direction of the lake. "With responses like that, I'm skeptical of that curse still being effective."

Malfoy paused to shoot Harry a look and let the Gryffindor catch up to him. "Well, excuse me for being elusive."

Harry grinned in spite of himself. "I dunno about elusive," he said as he began to walk around the lack with Malfoy, ignoring the biting wind coming across the ice. "I'd more say you're still being a stubborn prat."

"What are you?" Malfoy said, looking at him skeptically. "Self-appointed personality evaluator?" He smirked. "Since when did you get the promotion from Wonder-Boy?"

"Since you became all un-Slytherin and decided to walk and talk with aforementioned Wonder-Boy," Harry replied, not looking at Malfoy but grinning out over the lake.

"Who approved those credentials," Malfoy commented, smiling slightly as he walked. They continued in silence for a while before pausing slightly at a small bank, staring out over the lake to the Forbidden Forest opposite them. Suddenly Harry recognized where they were. He let out a small noise as he recalled the incident just last spring when he had fought off a mass of Dementors and seen himself on the opposite bank. It seemed like ages ago that he had been offered a life with his godfather.

Malfoy looked at him questioningly. "You all there? I mean, less than usual?"

Harry shot him a look and shoved him lightly, shaking his head slightly. "Just remembering something."

"I'm not going to have to play guess the problem am I?" Malfoy said, looking up at Harry unenthusiastically.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Harry said, kicking a bit of snow with his foot.

"Then I'm a Kneazle," Malfoy said, smirking.

Harry stared at him. "Are you saying you actually pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures, Malfoy?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he replied, moving to sit down in the snow, dropping his bag. "Ever heard of reading?"

"And here I was thinking I had something on you," retorted Harry, moving to sit down next to the blond, smiling slightly, his own bag flopping to the ground carelessly. Malfoy continued to watch Harry and, giving a slight huff, Harry turned to him. "This is where I fought off those dementors last year, remember?"

Malfoy eyes flashed in memory and he nodded slowly, his mouth parted slightly in a silent 'ah' before he turned to look out over the lake. Harry shivered slightly and rubbed his hands together briskly. Not even looking at him, Malfoy drew his wand and conjured the same blue fire that Hermione had found out about in their first year. The warm flames flickered softly in the ground near them.

"Thanks," Harry said softly, stretching out his hands to warm them, looking back out over the frozen water. A sudden movement caught his eye. Staring at the spot, he saw another flicker before two figures moved indistinctly among the brush. "Am I seeing things or is someone there?" he asked, leaning sightly towards Malfoy, getting the boys attention.

Malfoy turned to look where Harry was looking and frowned. "Yeah," he said slowly, a tinge of dislike in his voice. "There's someone there."

"I wonder who it is," Harry commented, standing slowly, his eyes never leaving the figures. One of them seemed familiar. "What do you suppose their doing?"

"Associating," Malfoy replied shortly, also standing and turning to walk back up to the castle.

Harry wasn't about to leave though. "I'm sure I know one of them," he said, still watching the two figures.

"Why does it matter?" Malfoy demanded, stopping to glare exasperatedly at Harry, extinguishing the small fire with a flick of his wand. "I'm bored."

"Then entertain yourself," Harry snapped at him, turning slightly but not looking at Malfoy. A moment later he wished he hadn't said anything as a large, wet, and extremely cold snowball crashed into the side of his head. Sputtering in surprise and indignation, he steadied himself and stared at Malfoy, who was grinning deviously and packing another snowball with his hands. "Why you little-" Harry snapped, smiling despite himself as he swung to the ground, gathering snow quickly, keeping his eyes on Malfoy.

Malfoy laughed slightly and ran a few feet, chucking his newly made snowball at Harry before scooping more snow from the ground. Harry dodged it narrowly and, having made a decent projectile, took off after Malfoy, lobbing his own wintery weapon at the blond. It hit him in the side of the face and Malfoy jerked slightly at the impact before throwing another snowball at Harry and taking off. It hit Harry in the knee as he rushed after Malfoy, sending another snowball after him.

Before long, both boys were panting, half soaked, and half lying in the snow with a snowball raised to strike. Harry grinned as he looked at Malfoy, satisfied at how much damage he had caused. The blond was breathing heavily and his hair was dripping from the snow. Harry had him somewhat pinned with the Whomping willow behind him and Harry in front. Malfoy scowled slightly before shaking his head.

"Truce?" the Slytherin proposed, watching Harry closely. Harry had discarded his sweater early on from the trapping heat and his shirt was half soaked. His hair was somehow messier than it's typical disobedient state and his glasses were slightly skewed.

Harry shook his head, still grinning. "Since when did Slytherin's ask for a truce?" he asked, still somewhat breathless. "Besides, you know I've got you beat."

Malfoy didn't move for a moment, still as he continued to breathe and hold his snowball raised. He pursed his lips slightly as he watched Harry's grinning face. "Point taken," he said before suddenly bolting to the side and chucking his snowball at Harry. Reflexively, Harry leaped at the escaping boy, successfully grabbing him about the torso and bringing them both to the ground in a rolling fighting heap. Harry and Malfoy struggle for a bit, getting snow in all sorts of uncomfortable places, before Harry finally had Malfoy pinned against the white ground, panting heavily. Malfoy slumped back onto the ground, staring up at Harry unhappily.

"You cheated," he said, still panting as he looked up at Harry.

"Just say you lost and I might be a kind victor," Harry said, grinning triumphantly down at the blond, who proceeded to blush and attempt to free his arms again. Finally, he went completely limp beneath Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, giving a pointed look.

"Fine," Malfoy conceded, sighing and rolling his eyes before looking directly at Harry. "I've lost to the great Harry Potter." Harry grinned down in victory at Malfoy's scowl. "Do I have to address you as 'Great Conquerer' from now on or do I get let off with light charges."

Harry laughed and finally rolled off of the blond, flopping down onto the cold ground happily. He turned to watch Malfoy and saw he hadn't moved, save for turning his head to Harry. Harry grinned at him and Malfoy finally smiled faintly. "I suppose I can let you live," Harry said jovially.

Malfoy didn't reply, just continued to stare at Harry, smiling slightly. After a moment Harry's own grin faded slightly as he continued to watch Malfoy stare at him. When Malfoy still said nothing, Harry began to feel uncomfortable. "What?"

Malfoy's smile grew slightly and Harry felt something begin to twist in his stomach. Sure, Harry had beaten Malfoy at things before, but the blond had never smiled at him like that and that feeling certainly had never been present. Harry swallowed as he waited anxiously for Malfoy to reply. Him saying anything would have been welcomed by Harry at that point.

"You're disguise charms wore off," Malfoy said finally, still smiling. Harry was dumbfounded, frowning, his mouth hanging open just slightly. Malfoy chuckled slightly, shifting a bit so he was on his side and propping his head up on his hand as he continued to look at Harry. "That and you're extremely rumpled looking." Harry pushed himself up to glare slightly at Malfoy. "You look better normal."

Harry froze, his glare quickly dissipating as he stared at Malfoy, who was currently looking him up and down. Aside from feeling like an specimen from Care of Magical Creatures, Harry was unbelievably confused. Had Malfoy just complimented him? "Did you just compliment me?"

"Yes." Apparently he had. Malfoy was still smiling at him and had sat up, looking down at Harry. "I did, actually." Though his own words seemed to have shocked him, he remained smiling.

"Since when did you compliment me?" Harry was dumbfounded. If Harry didn't already know Malfoy was acting differently, he would have hexed the boy or told him to get his head checked.

Malfoy shrugged, pushing himself to his feet and brushing snow off of himself. "Since I felt the need," he replied, walking a few steps and picking up Harry's sweater from the snow. He made a face at the soaked and cold clothing before tossing it to Harry. Harry just continued to stare at him, unmoving from his position on the ground. "Does is bother you?"

Harry scowled, pushing himself to his feet finally. "Just makes me question your mental stability, is all." Malfoy smirked at that and waited for Harry to reach him.

"I thought you always questioned my mental stability," the blond said, still smirking at him.

"Yeah, well," Harry rubbed a hand through his damp and freezing hair, frowning as he felt ice against his fingers. "This just furthers the concerns." He and Malfoy looked at each other for a moment, Harry still scowling slightly and Malfoy smiling softly. Suddenly Malfoy grinned widely. Harry was about to ask what the reason was when Malfoy suddenly flung a large pile of snow at him, knocking him over with the impact. Sputtering, Harry swiped the snow from his face to see Malfoy laughing as he ran up the castle. Muttering a string to himself, Harry quickly picked himself up and sprinted after Malfoy, grinning from ear to ear as he neared the blond.

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I love them all so much. For those wondering why Harry acts the way he does when with Cedric, here's how I figure it. Harry's fourteen and hasn't had really any guidance or advice with growing up, especially sexually, so, when Cedric, the older guy with more experience and great charm, goes where he does, Harry lets him go and just is on for the ride. I know Harry seems a bit effeminate, but really he's just completely inexperienced with no one for guidance really. The reason Harry and Malfoy didn't go someplace intelligent when they needed sleep was 1) they wouldn't want people knowing they had to be around each other (Ron and Hermione being exceptions) and 2) doing the smart thing and going to the hospital wing would have meant being just that, smart. I dunno about you, but at fourteen I wouldn't have done the obvious thing and instead tried to figure my own way.

Sorry for the ramble. Just felt the need to explain a few things. There might be another one of these at some point in the future.


	16. To Refuse

**Disclaimer****: If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't have to write these damn disclaimers. But, yes, I do write them. So, I must not own it. **

Chapter 16: To Refuse

Harry wouldn't have minded that it was Monday. He'd experienced Mondays since his first week of life and had to face the end of the weekend in his first week of preschool when he was with the Dursley's, before he's been told he was a wizard. The day had never really caused much trouble for him in the past. So why it suddenly decided to make things difficult was beyond him.

This Monday had been particularly difficult. He had overslept that morning and woken around the same time as the rest of the Slytherin dormitory, meaning he had rolled rather quickly dragging his bed things under Malfoy's bed to avoid detection. To say that the underneath of Malfoy's bed was unpleasant would be shirking the truth. However, rolling straight into Malfoy's trunk was extremely unpleasant and had the blond starting awake with a yell that, had the other boys in the room not already been rousing, definitely had them alert afterwards. On the guise of searching for a sock, Malfoy had poked his head under his bed to briefly tell Harry to stay put until the others had left or he might risk disembowelment. Of course, by the time all the other boys had left, Blaise hanging back for a bit to wait for Malfoy before being shoved out the door by said blond, Harry only had fifteen minutes of breakfast left before his first class. He had hastily dressed (after arguing with Malfoy about privacy), grabbed his bag and almost made it to the door when Malfoy had shouted at him for 'still being Potter.' By the time Harry, disguised as Davis Greenwood, sprinted out of the Slytherin common room with Malfoy at his heals, he had missed breakfast and was five minutes late to Transfiguration.

Hermione's lecture all the way to Herbology wasn't exactly pleasant and after asking Ron why he hadn't woken Harry up, dissolved into a fit at hearing that he hadn't been in the dormitory all weekend.

Huffing, Hermione crossed her arms as she staring imperiously across the waving vines of the plant they were supposed to be pruning. "Well if you weren't in Gryffindor where were you?" she demanded in hushed tones. "We barely see you anymore, what with you hanging out with Cedric so mu-" She broke off and stared at Harry in complete shock.

Harry, realizing what she had thought, jumped in quickly before the wrong conclusions could be drawn. "I wasn't with Cedric," he said hurriedly. "I didn't see him all weekend actually."

Hermione gave him a disbelieving look. "Well where were you then?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. Sure, he had spent the whole weekend in the Slytherin dorms but that didn't mean he liked being hammered about it. "I had to stay in the Slytherin dormitories." Hermione stared at him in shock. "Malfoy was hit with the Twist of the Heart and I ended up being the one he had to stick with."

Hermione's look of shock was beginning to fade into deep thought as Harry explained quickly. "It's not like I wanted to stay in the Slytherin rooms," Harry pressed, trying to defend himself. "I just didn't have much of choice." Hemione continued to say nothing and simply look at her pruners in deep concentration.

Ron scoffed beside him. "I've got to hand it to you," he said, a scathing tone in his voice. "I can't imagine staying there for more than ten minutes, let alone for a weekend." He glanced over at Harry. "I'm surprised you didn't hex him or lock him in that broom closet."

Harry let a small smile creep over his face at Ron's words. It seemed the red head had gotten over their argument from the weekend. A situation which Harry was extremely happy for. He'd had enough of fighting Ron this year to last him a lifetime. The rest of the lesson proceeded normally, Ron and Harry joking as they worked with their plant while Hermione watched Harry carefully, saying nothing.

That evening, Ron and Harry found themselves being pulled determinately by Hermione down to the Great Hall. It was the second night of the dancing lessons and, unlike the first lesson, this one was a combined class, with the girls joining. Harry felt himself go cold when Hermione told him and Ron and the boys had exchanged looks of varying shades of green and white. Hermione had scoffed and said "Honestly" before throwing Harry's edited History of Magic essay back at him.

Harry's view on the dancing lessons was less than enthusiastic. "Hermione, can't I just sit this one out?" he asked for the seventh time. "I don't need to dance with a girl to know I can do it."

"Would you stop your whining?" she snapped, as they descended the steps to the Great Hall. "You're a champion. You're supposed to be here."

"She's got a point," Ron said and Harry glared at him.

"Well, aren't you helpful," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Just get inside already," Hermione said exasperatedly, pushing the two boys into the hall.

It looked like every student fourth year and above was swarming in the hall. The four house tables had been pushed to the side. The boys had all drifted towards the wall while the girls seemed to have developed a pack mentality, keeping in groups of ten or more, watching the boys and talking excitedly. A few of the boys had taken the initiative and asked some of the girls already, standing protectively beside their partners. Harry heard Ron groan beside him.

At the soft feeling of a hand against his back, Harry turned quickly. Cedric stood behind him, smiling softly down at him. Harry felt his face flush as he remembered the last time he had been with the Hufflepuff. He smiled up at the Hufflepuff. "Hey," he said, opting for a neutral greeting.

"I missed you this weekend," Cedric said, moving slightly closer to Harry and smiling softly down at Harry. Harry felt his face heat slightly and saw Ron and Hermione being to drift away, bickering slightly.

"Oh," Harry said, feeling extremely foolish that it was the only thing he could manage to say. He swallowed. "Did you have a good weekend then?"

Cedric's smile widened slightly and his eyes glinted. "Relatively," he replied as he shifted slightly closer to Harry. "Excited for dancing lessons?"

Harry rolled his eyes, internally bubbling that they had landed on a normal topic. "Are you kidding? I'd rather face the Horntail again than have to approach one of those packs." He gestured to a nearby group of giggling girls.

Cedric laughed, the group of girls turning to watch him with bright eyes and hidden giggles. Grinning, he looked back down at Harry and lowered his voice slightly, giving it a huskier tone. "You don't have to ask one of them, you know." Harry felt his cheeks begin to heat up again. "Why not be my partner again? I'd love to show you off."

Harry was pretty sure that his face was rather red and fought to turn his flaming cheeks down a notch or so. "But, there are so many-"

"They'll see us at the ball anyway," Cedric pointed out, cutting Harry of and smiling down at him. "It can't hurt them to see us now."

"Yeah, but-" Harry struggled to find words. "I mean, it's just-"

"Hello." Harry was saved from trying to explain that he didn't exactly think about other people's presence at the Ball when he had last danced with Cedric and that now it was all becoming much more real. Cho Chang had walked up to the pair of them, smiling shyly.

"Hi," Harry said, turning to the girl and smiling back, noticing again the lack of a stomach jerk. Cedric nodded to her in respect.

"Er," Cho began, fidgeting slightly. Harry noticed her group of friends a slight ways away giggling and watching excitedly. Both he and Cedric watched her expectantly. "I was just wondering," Cho looked up at Cedric, blushing slightly "if you would like to dance with me tonight."

Cedric's eyes widened a fraction before he glanced at Harry, who was looking at Cho in slight surprise and suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. He caught Cedric's eye and smiled, arranging his face into what he hoped was a giving expression. He mouthed 'go ahead' and waved slightly before backing off slightly, preparing to walk away and try to find Ron. Cedric seemed slightly disappointed but nodded and turned back to Cho. Harry quickly turned around and scurried over to Ron just as Professor McGonnegal strode to the center of the room.

The lessons proceeded much like they had the previous time, only instead of being led gracefully about the floor by Cedric, Harry found himself struggling to lead Hannah Abbot around the swirling couples without making a complete fool of himself. After a few minutes though, he seemed to be getting the hang of it and he smiled at Hannah, who returned the grin.

"You dance quite well," she commented when the first song ended and they separated.

Harry grinned broadly at her. "Thanks," he said. "You're not bad yourself."

She laughed and Harry noticed Hermione out of the corner of his eye walking determinately towards him. Hannah seemed to have noticed too as she smiled and waved at Harry to go find another partner.

"What's up?" Harry asked when Hermione stopped in front of him, looking slightly ruffled.

She shot him and look. "You would think," she began in a tense voice. "That people ought to show more tact than simply using others as a last resort, wouldn't you?" Harry stared at her, slightly shocked and didn't question when she moved to partner with him as the next song began. "What right has he to think that I'm just going to drop everything and go with him?"

"With who?" Harry asked, trying to decode her rant as he carefully guided the two of them through the crowd. He noticed Cho and Cedric a short distance away dancing near Roger Davies and Fleur. Roger was scowling and Cedric seemed distracted.

"Just trust him to wait until the last minute to ask someone to the ball," Hermione continued on her rant, not paying any attention to Harry's question. "The nerve of him! Calling me a liar just because I've already got a date."

"You've already got a date?" Harry asked, slightly shocked. "Who are you going with?"

Hermione looked up at him sharply before her expression softened slightly. "It's not important," she said, her eyes trailing away from him. "Where's Cedric?" she asked suddenly, seemed to have just realized the absence of the Hufflepuff.

"Dancing with Cho," Harry replied, nodding his head in their direction.

Hermione stared at him. "Why aren't you dancing with him? I thought you two were doing well."

Harry shrugged and twirled her. "Cho asked him," he explained and then blushed slightly. "Besides, I don't want to exhibit myself to the school quite yet. I'm not exactly hot to trot on jumping on the spot light again."

Hermione looked at him, lips firmly shut and contemplative. The song began to wind down and the two of them separated. Harry felt someone's hand on his back for the second time that night and turned to face Cedric.

Or not face Cedric.

"Malfoy?" Harry said, curious at the other boy's appearance and quickly took in the uncomfortable expression he wore and the worried face of Pansy behind him. As Harry looked at the blond he noticed Cedric and Cho separate from each other and the Hufflepuff pause in his walk toward Harry, watching the Slytherin.

"Potter," Malfoy said, still looking uncomfortable. "Can I have a word after?"

Harry, though still surprised, shrugged. "Sure."

Malfoy said nothing but just nodded and turned back to Pansy. Harry frowned as he watched the Slytherin walk away from him. Something about the blond seemed off, as if he was on edge judging from the stiffness of his back and shoulders. Cedric was also frowning as he walked up to Harry, glaring at Malfoy as he passed the blond. Harry felt a fleeting moment of surprise as he caught Malfoy glaring back at Cedric.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked from beside him, also watching the Slytherin depart.

"Exactly what I was about to ask," Cedric said darkly as he came to stand next to Harry, glancing back at the blond. Malfoy seemed to be talking to Pansy, who was looking at the blond concernedly and patting him on the shoulder. Cedric narrowed his eyes and lightly placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, guiding him to the center of the floor.

"Wha-?" Harry began to ask but was quieted by a swift soft look from Cedric. He looked back at Hermione, who was watching him leave. _I can't do anything this time_ her face read and Harry nodded, turning back to look up at Cedric.

"Cedric, I-"

"Just one dance, Harry," Cedric said, turning him so they were facing each other and grinning down at the Gryffindor. "One dance and I'll let you go." Harry creased his eyebrows slightly. "People aren't going to judge from one dance," he said, and gently took Harry's hand in his while placing the other on Harry's waist.

Harry hesitated a moment before setting his free hand on Cedric's shoulder just as the music began. Much like the previous lesson, Cedric elegantly swept Harry about the dance floor in a flurry of movement and comforting guidance. Harry couldn't help but smile up at the Hufflepuff. He had to admit this was much more fun than trying to lead Hannah Abbot around the dance floor. This felt like flying in a strange sort of way. Cedric smiled back down at him.

Suddenly, someone bumped harshly into Cedric, making him jerk slightly and Harry nearly lost his balance. Turning sharply, Cedric came face to face with Roger Davies, who was sneering. Harry found the expression fit his face much better than it did Malfoy. He quickly brought his mind back to matters as the two older boys glared at each other.

"Best not get too distracted, Diggory," Davies said, gratingly. Fleur, who was dancing with him, seemed to be getting disgruntled. "Never know who might upset your plans."

Cedric scowled deeply. "I'd watch my own steps if I were you, Davies," he ground out, glaring at the other boy angrily. "It wont look good to be going against the school champion, you know."

Davies growled and Fleur tossed her hair angrily. "Onestlee," she said, huffing. "Would youu tooo stop eet? Ze practeece eez almost finineeshed!" She gave Davies a displeased pouting look and he turned drew back from Cedric slightly.

"Of course, dear," he said, grinning sickly at Fleur, as he drew away from Cedric.

Cedric glared after him, jaw tight and grip somewhat harsh on Harry's wrist. Harry shifted uncomfortably, trying to move away and not offend Cedric at the same time. Cedric, noticing Harry's twisting, turned back to him swiftly, eyes slightly widened in surprised and he immediately released Harry's wrist.

"Oh!" he said surprised. "Harry, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Harry said, rubbing his wrist lightly and smiling slightly up at Cedric. He looked around the room, noticing the couples separating and Moody beginning to disassemble the phonograph. "Besides, we're done dancing anyway."

Cedric nodded slowly but didn't release his hold on Harry's waist, causing the smaller boy to blush slightly and avert his eyes briefly. Cedric smiled, seeming to know the cause and leaned down to him. "Want me to walk you to Gryffindor tower again?"

Harry looked back at Cedric quickly, the blush burning just a bit more. He swallowed, trying to keep his voice normal as he looked up at Cedric's smoldering storm eyes, the older boys face smiling down at him in an extremely enticing manner. "N-no," he stuttered out, cursing himself for stuttering internally. "I'm fine. Besides, with the whole castle here, I just-"

"It's alright," Cedric said, straightening and releasing his hold on Harry's waist. He smiled down at Harry as he stepped back. "Will I see you tomorrow then?" Harry looked at him for a moment, thinking when and why he would see Cedric the next day. Cedric laughed slightly. "How about we play a quick round of Quidditch or something. Take our minds off of things for a while."

Harry grinned widely. "That sounds excellent," he replied and nodded to Cedric, who grinned back happily. Harry teetered for a moment on how to say goodbye before Cedric placed a hand on his shoulder briefly but intentionally and walked away from him.

Smiling softly to himself, Harry went in search of Ron and Hermione only to come face to face with Malfoy. The blond looked drawn, paler than usual and definitely had an air of stiffness about him. Harry's eyed widened a fraction.

"C'mon," Malfoy said, without a word of explanation, and grabbed Harry's arm, dragging him through the crowd of bustling and chattering students out of the hall and down a side passage. Although usually Harry would have protested to such behavior from Malfoy, after living with him for a whole weekend, Harry remained silent and simply rolled his eyes as the blond finally released his arm and turned to him. Harry waited semi-patiently as Malfoy looked uncomfortable and maintained the unusual stiffness.

"So," Harry prompted. "What's up?"

Malfoy's eyes darted up to Harry's before he sighed, his shoulders finally falling and relaxing slightly. "The curse is still active," he said tiredly. "I've been hoping all day that it had worn off but judging from the pains it hasn't." He shifted and turned to study the wall next to him. "It was somewhat better just now but..." he trailed off, his eyes remaining determinedly on the wall and not on Harry.

"What?" By now Harry should have been used to Malfoy being inconsistent and not always answering him completely. "What's wrong now?"

Malfoy flinched and glared at the wall. "The curse seems to dislike your direct association with people other than me," he said, plainly and in the tone that Harry had come to recognize as Malfoy's 'I-have-to-tell-the-truth-because-of-this-stupid-curse' voice.

Harry's eyes widened a fraction before he laughed slightly to himself. Malfoy's head whipped around and he stared angrily at Harry. Waving a hand, Harry quickly cleared his throat. "So," Harry coughed again. "You're telling me the curse doesn't want me hanging out with other people?"

"Not exactly," Malfoy said, his eyes darting to anywhere but Harry. "Just when you're, well," he shifted uncomfortably. "Intimate."

Harry stared. Then stared some more, and, for good measure, stared a bit extra just to make sure. "Are you telling me the curse was acting wonky during the dancing lessons?"

Malfoy seemed to be getting extremely uncomfortable and was shifting his weight much more than any normal person without severe bladder problems shifted. He also seemed to have a slight tinge to his face that Harry was sure wasn't due to the temperature of the corridor. Harry snorted. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Well why else would it be bothering me so much when you danced with the others!" Malfoy snapped, finally looking at Harry, anger and frustration and a sort of strange desperation flashing through his eyes.

Harry shrugged, beginning to get used to Malfoy's outbursts. He'd spent a whole weekend of them. A sudden idea flashed through his mind. "Maybe you were jealous."

That tinge Harry had noticed earlier was definitely more prominent now as Malfoy stared at Harry in shock and incredulity. It was a rare sight to see Draco Malfoy sputter at someone's words. Harry happened to be lucky enough to witness such a rare occurrence as Malfoy attempted to make his mind transmit the correct electric signals to his mouth to form proper words. Finally, he seemed to have succeeded.

"WHAT!"

Harry shrugged again. "I was within 100 feet of you most of the time, I gather, so I can't see why the curse would have been going tragic." Malfoy was scowling at him. "I just suggested another explanation, ridiculous as it seems." Harry laughed harshly. "Why would you be jealous of me in the first place?"

Malfoy seemed to be beginning to have one of his fits again. The fits where he would try to keep himself from answering on of Harry's questions that Harry may or may not have actually intended to ask. Harry almost cancelled his request when he stopped himself, realizing that he was actually curious as to why Malfoy would be jealous of him. It wasn't like he had anything the blond didn't.

Malfoy seemed to be about to break and a moment later he opened his mouth. "Because-"

"HARRY!"

Both boys turned sharply, Malfoy clamping a hand over his mouth, eyes slightly widened and Harry shocked and watching Cedric in shock as the older boy stormed towards them.

"Cedric," Harry said, surprised and somewhat confused. "What are you doing here?"

Cedric firmly gripped Harry about the waist and dragged him back from Malfoy, who was looking surprised and angry. Harry stared up at Cedric, wondering what on earth had been getting into the Hufflepuff lately for him to be acting so unlike himself. "I was just going to ask when you wanted to play Quidditch tomorrow but now I find you here." He glared at Malfoy. Before Harry or Malfoy could say anything, Cedric was dragging Harry back towards the Entrance Hall.

"Cedric, wait," Harry began, but Cedric apparently was too intent on getting him away from Malfoy. Malfoy, it seemed, thought it best for his own physical well being to keep his distance and simply followed a ways behind them. Cedric growled and quickly dived into the swarm of girls and boys outside in the Entrance Hall, effectively disorienting Harry and losing sight of Malfoy. The next moment, Harry found himself being dragged behind a tapestry and facing the worried and annoyed face of Cedric Diggory.

"Cedric, what-" Harry began but was cut off.

"Harry, I don't want you hanging around Malfoy," Cedric said, staring determinately at Harry, his voice authoritative and Harry understood why he was a prefect.

Harry stared at him for a moment, his face surprised and bewildered. Had he really been with Malfoy that much? "Why?"

Cedric sighed somewhat exasperatedly as his shoulders slumped. "Because I don't trust him around you." Harry gaped and Cedric's mouth quirked. "He's been getting too close for my comfort." Was Cedric saying what Harry thought he was? Cedric smiled awkwardly. "I seem to be getting more and more jealous of people lately."

Harry stared, and then suddenly burst out laughing. Cedric frowned down at him, displeasure written all over his face. "Oh come on," Harry said as his laughter quieted. "You can't honestly think _Malfoy _is a threat."

Cedric took ahold of Harry shoulders firmly, his eyes hard. "I can and I do," he said firmly and Harry's eyes widened at his tone. "He's been hanging around you too much for it to be normal and the way he acts, well," he huffed out a breath. "I just don't like the idea of losing you."

"You think you'd lose me to _Malfoy?" _Harry was incredulous. This was Malfoy they were arguing about. Malfoy, who had bullied him since day one. Malfoy who had taken every opportunity to get him in trouble. Malfoy, who had practically stated his approval of the Dark side at the Quidditch World Cup. Malfoy, who-

-had been letting Harry sleep in his dorm for the past three days. Harry's mind began to spin. Malfoy, who had been bearing all his secrets to Harry as of late. Malfoy, who had been romping in the snow just the other day. Malfoy, who had admitted he didn't hate Harry. Malfoy. Who was afraid of rejection.

Harry was brought back from his racing thoughts by Cedric's voice. "Yes, the thought has crossed my mind," Cedric was snapping, his face twisted in dislike of the thought. "It's not like I'd put it past a snake."

Harry felt ice spread through his stomach. "What makes you think he'd even want me in the first place?" He said slowly. Much as he didn't want to see it, Cedric's words were making sense, but the idea that Malfoy would be drawn to him for that reason was just.... Well, not something Harry was sure he was prepared to accept just yet.

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know," Cedric drawled. "Maybe the fact that _he hasn't left you alone since you became unavailable." _

"He was hit with 'the Twist of the Heart'!" Harry half-yelled. Why was he defending Malfoy, again? "It's not like he had any choice!"

"It shouldn't still be active!" Cedric retorted. "C'mon Harry, you can't blame me for being suspicious."

"I don't," Harry snapped. "I just think maybe you should trust me a bit. I'm not stupid!"

"You're fourteen!" Cedric was obviously getting frustrated with where this conversation was going. He wasn't the only one. "I'm trying to protect you from what you can't see!"

"I don't need someone to protect me," Harry reared up, pride flaring. "I've taken care of myself plenty of times!"

"This is different," Cedric said, as if he were telling a first year the rules. He moved closer to Harry. "Look," he sighed. "I'm just worried. Is it such a bad thing to care so much about you?"

Harry blushed slightly, feeling his stomach clench at Cedric's words. It was extremely strange to have someone care about him so openly. "No," he said shyly, watching as Cedric moved closer, feeling the cold stone of the wall against his back.

Next moment, Cedric was kissing him. Gently at first, and then deeper, harsher, faster. Harry, tilted his head, opening his mouth slightly as Cedric's tongue probed his lips. Cedric moaned as he took Harry's mouth, sliding his arms around the smaller boys frame. Harry whimpered softly, his hands clutching in the front of Cedric's robes unconsciously. They drew back for breath briefly, Harry's lips pink and bruising and Cedric's eyes dark before they came back crashing together.

Harry gasped softly as he felt Cedric's hands travel across his back and tightened his grip in the older boys shirt. Cedric trailed his mouth from his lips along his jaw, nipping lightly along the skin, making Harry shudder. His skin seemed to be burning as he felt Cedric push up closer against him, the cold stone at his back making his flesh prickle in goosebumps, though that might have been Cedric's hand slowly drifting up under his shirt.

Cedric chuckled lowly as Harry gasped and arched, one hand deftly rolling the Gryffindor's errect nipple while the other slid along his back tantalizingly. Harry opened his eyes slightly, panting, and stared up at the ceiling. Heat was coursing through his frame, wracking his small body with tremors and he moaned as Cedric's tongue lapped against his throat. It was hot. It was amazing. It was dizzying. It was-

Too much. Harry was gasping, his hands almost white as they clenched Cedric's shirt. He felt the hand stroking his back begin to smooth lower, fingers dragging along the edge of his pants, drifting to the front of his garment. "Wait," he said, as he felt Cedric's fingers ghost against his belt, the other boys breath hot against his skin.

"Harry," Cedric breathed, his lips against skin, brushing, biting, soft and dangerous. Harry clenched his eyes shut, face flushed and legs weak. The fingers at Harry's waist band were tugging now, running just under the fabric.

"Please," Harry gasped. Cedric grinned against his collarbone, nipping the skin lightly. "Please wait." It was too hot. It was too dizzying. It was going too fast and too far and Harry suddenly wanted to stop. Cedric seemed to be on a completely different page though, in his hands were any evidence of his intentions. "Wait, please," Harry was gasping in a completely unconvincing manner that I he cursed himself for. "Stop."

Cedric couldn't hear him. Or wouldn't, Harry didn't know. And suddenly, his belt was undone, Cedric had latched onto his throat, biting and sucking, and a hand had traveled somewhere that Harry had only just discovered in the past few months. Panic flooded him and his eyes widened as he jerked back from Cedric, pushing against his chest.

Eyes wide and staring down at his feet, Harry shook all over, panting in panic and arousal. Cedric had stopped moving, frozen with his head still bent where it had been latched onto Harry's neck, one hand still under his shirt and the other still half down the Gryffindor's pants. His surprised face melted slowly and he smiled gently down at Harry, who, glancing up, still noticed the lust swimming just beyond the edge in the 7th years orbs.

"Harry," murmured Cedric, moving closer to him again, his voice sweetly soft, coaxing, and seductive. Harry clenched his eyes shut.

"Please, I'm not ready," Harry pleaded softly, expecting Cedric to step away, put his arms around Harry reassuringly, to tell him it was okay.

Cedric chuckled and slid his hand to Harry's partly undone collar and popped another button loose. His other hand remained in Harry's pants, slowly moving deeper and places Harry didn't want it yet. Harry tightened his grip in Cedric's shirt, trying to lock his arms to keep Cedric back. He didn't want this. he wasn't ready. Words fell over each other in his head, confusing and contradictory. "Stop!" Harry tried to yell, but his voice came out ragged, breathy. Weak.

To Harry's shock and relief, Cedric suddenly pulled away, his hands stiffening on Harry's skin. Trying to catch up with his racing heart and breath, Harry looked up. Cedric was no longer looking at him, instead glaring at the tapestry they were hidden behind. Well, the person standing in front of the tapestry, really.

Harry hadn't seen Malfoy look that angry since Slytherin had lost the House Championship the previous year. He was glaring at Cedric, seemingly unaffected by the Hufflepuff glaring daggers at him. Of course, the effect of the glare might be lessened slightly by the fact that Cedric had a hand down Harry's pants and was still breathing heavily.

"I believe Harry told you to stop," Malfoy stated, tight lipped and silver eyes flashing. Harry stared at the blond, his mind finally beating back the fog as he fully grasped the situation. Him and Cedric, behind a tapestry. With Cedric's hands down his pants and up his shirt. Gasping embarrassment, Harry swiftly pushed Cedric away, the older boys appendages withdrawing from him quickly as he stumbled away from the Hufflepuff.

Cedric stared at him a moment before rounding on Malfoy, Harry hastily pulling down his shirt and attempting to cover himself. "Our business is our own, Malfoy," Cedric growled, his fists clenching at his sides as he stared down the Slytherin.

"If your business is ignoring refusal you've got a pretty twisted one," Malfoy sneered, eyes flashing to Harry for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Before Harry could say anything, show surprise at Malfoy's concern, react at all, Cedric had grabbed him, hauling him to his side predatorily, and snarled at Malfoy, "What do you care? Find your own if you're so desperate."

Malfoy seemed shocked for a second before his face shadowed. Harry was gaping up at Cedric. What Cedric had said earlier racing through his mind again. Suddenly seeing Malfoy here, after Cedric had just, well, anyway. It all just seemed much more plausible. Especially by the way Malfoy's eyes kept flashing over to him between glaring at Cedric.

"Find my own what?" the blond snapped, his lip curling at he looked at Cedric. "Rebound?" What? "Is that what you're telling me to do, Diggory?" Rebound?

Cedric was literally fuming with anger. When he spoke his voice was low and dangerous. "That's none of your business."

"Sure," Malfoy spat back, his eyes suddenly trained on Harry. "But it is Harry's, isn't it?" Harry stared between Cedric and Malfoy, shocked, confused, angry, and altogether every emotion except happy. Malfoy seemed to be on a roll with giving information. "I'm pretty sure it's Harry's business that you're just using him to get back at-"

"Shut up!" Cedric yelled, drawing his wand quickly and pointing it at Malfoy, successfully cutting off the blond. "Shut up you no good piece of shit!"

But Harry had found an emotion in his massive confusion, it surfacing quite easily. He was angry, and not just slightly either. "What does he mean, rebound?" he demanded, looking at Cedric determinedly. He hoped slightly that Malfoy was lying. Cedric, the Hogwarts Champion, School prefect, and idol student, couldn't be doing what Malfoy was saying he was.

Cedric glanced over at Harry, opened his mouth briefly as if to say something, and then closed it again, his face flashing between fury and desperation and guilt. "Tell me the truth," Harry yelled, feeling something begin to crack in his gut. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Malfoy look at him with something close to pity and guilt.

"I didnt-" Cedric cut himself off, shifting his grip on his wand. "I didn't mean to-"

"What!" Harry was getting extremely annoyed at the complete lack of explanation from both boys. He turned to Malfoy, hoping for some clarification that Cedric was obviously not able to supply due to his inability to form proper sentences.

Malfoy looked between Cedric and Harry, his eyes shifting between each boy. Anger at Cedric. Pity at Harry.

Harry hated being pitied. "What the Hell is this? Why can't anyone tell me?""He was using you to get back at Davies," Malfoy said, glaring at Cedric, who looked shocked, guilty and furious. Harry looked back up at Cedric, staring hard, waiting for the older boy to deny it, to say Malfoy was lying, to do something.

Cedric looked back down at him and his eyes said it all.

Without a word, Harry turned and walked deliberately from behind the tapestry.

A/N: Thank GOD! That took me so long to write for some reason. I seem to finally be getting over some of my writers block, which was a massive pain. This chapter in and of itself seemed to be the cause and center of it, because I couldn't seem to get through it. Damned thing. Congrats to those of you who figured out the whole situation between Cedric, Roger, and Harry ahead of time!

Anyway! Thank you everyone for the reviews! I'll update as soon as I can!


	17. To Confess

*I'm putting the A/N at the bottom because I don't want to postpone this any further*

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it. All I have is a huge pile of homework and writers block. **

Chapter 17: To Confess

When he was a child, Harry had often watched the Dursleys through the days. Of course, most of them time, he tried to occupy his mind with other, more happy things, but others he would find himself observing them, feeling completely nonplussed. The way Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon acted was not how he imagined a married couple would act. They behaved as if they were serving a sort of duty to each other, not actually ever having been in love. It seemed that, for their relationship, that they didn't need or want it. The only thing they seemed to love, besides Uncle Vernon's love of his drills and chocolate pastries and Petunia's obsession with sterilization, was Dudley. However, even in their non-loving relationship, Harry had been able to see that the two of them kept a commitment to each other, never wavering or breaking, keeping few secrets and respecting what they could of each other.

Even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia knew the basics of what you do and don't.

"Harry!"

Cedric obviously hadn't grown up with the basics. That or he didn't care about them. Harry kept walking.

"Harry wait!"

He said nothing. He felt a hand come to land on his shoulder but didn't stop, letting it slide off as he moved forward.

"Harry I can explain." Cedric's voice had a slight pleading twinge to it. Harry didn't want to listen particularly. His mind was still shifting between being somewhat shut down and buzzing like an angry hornets nest.

"Look." Cedric sounded a bit angrier. "Would you at least stop and hear me out!"

Harry kept walking. One step. Two. Another pair of feet in front of him. Cedric had moved in front of him. Harry sighed.

"Can I at least try to explain this?"

Harry looked up at the Hufflepuff. "What's there to explain?" he asked, his voice sounding empty, completely the opposite from his mind. "You used me to make Davies jealous." Harry felt the anger he previously felt begin to stir in his stomach again. "You decided to use the second Hogwarts Champion to make Davies regret breaking up with you." His voice was rising in volume along with the twisting in his gut. "You felt the need to get back at someone and so you used someone," he felt his emotions begin to come rushing back, like a wild colorful dam had broken. "Someone completely oblivious and innocent to achieve your own sick desire to make your boyfriend feel bad." Harry glared at Cedric, who looked guiltily back at him. "Is that about right?"

"Harry, I-" Cedric began but Harry cut him off.

"Can explain?" he spat, his hands clenching at his sides. "Really? Is there really an explanation for lying to me? Using me for a name?" He scoffed. "That's all I am to anyone, isn't it. The Boy Who Lived, famous Harry Potter. Wanted a slice, did you?"

"Harry, he cheated on me first-"

"Like that's any excuse!" Harry yelled, ignoring the older boy. "You used me! I wish his curse _had_ hit you instead of Malfoy, then I'd have been out of this sooner!"

Cedric's face darkened at the mention of the fight. "You're not completely scott free!" he snapped. "Hanging out with Malfoy all the time! If I hadn't known any better, I'd have thought you two were dating and not us."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry snapped, narrowing his eyes at the older boy. "Whatever weird relationship I have with Malfoy, friendship or hexing each other to bits, has _nothing_ to do with you _lying_ to me. Have you ever been lied to like this Cedric? Has anyone used you for revenge before? Did you even _think_ about what you were doing?"

He was panting slightly, anger flaring through him, exhilarating and painful. Cedric said nothing, though he looked about to. Harry found he really didn't give a damn. "You didn't, did you?" Harry snarled. "You just made up a rotten plan without thinking it over and jumped right in. I thought you were better than this." Cedric's face suddenly dropped his guilty slightly angry expression to one of shock. "I actually admired you for a while, liked you even these past weeks, but apparently it's just a smooth mask over a sack of bubotuber puss." Cedric winced.

"Look," Cedric said, heaving a breath. "I know what I did was wrong-"

"Then why the Hell did you do it?" Harry yelled at him, hand itching to grab his wand and hex the Hufflepuff.

"Because I was angry and hurt and not thinking straight!" Cedric conceded, face twisted with opposing emotions.

Harry's face twisted into a sneer to rival Malfoy's. "You're right. You weren't thinking." He turned from Cedric, anger still pouring through his flesh as he walked away from the seventh year ass hole.

"Harry-"

"Just shut up, and leave me alone," Harry snarled over his shoulder, quickening his pace with forceful steps, glaring hard ahead of him. He was determined not to look back, to give Cedric the satisfaction of seeing how much he had hurt him. Hefelt a hand grip his shoulder tightly and attempt to turn him around.

"Would you-" Cedric began but Harry had really had enough. Face furious, he spun around, ripping his wand from his robes and shouting "Incarcerous!" Instantly, ropes burst from his wand and wound tightly around Cedric's surprised form, binding him instantly.

Breathing heavily, Harry straightened and watched as Cedric's suddenly panic-stricken face looked at him, the older boy falling to the hard stone floor. "You have no idea how much I'd love to hex you," Harry growled, his wand still trained on Cedric. Cedric, helpless against the bonds, looked up at Harry, his gray eyes flashing between fear and anger. "Have a good night, Diggory," Harry said, turning from the other boy and walking down the corridor, Cedric's furious and muffled yells echoing behind him as the older boy struggled on the floor.

As Harry silently climbed into his four poster, ignoring Ron's questioning look, he saw Hedwig by his pillow, an envelope similar to the one he received a few days ago lying on the bed spread. Half tempted to crush it between his hands to vent some anger, Harry ripped open the envelope and tore the small piece of parchment from the folds. There, written in the same script as the previous one, was what appeared the continuation of the first letter.

_....I hope they stay away from your face,_

Harry stared at the words, scowling, and he flipped over the paper, in hopes that the damn thing might finally be finished. To his pleasure, the end of the sentence was there.

_.......Because I think you're cute._

Harry stared at the words, his mind tumbling over and over. Was this some sort of trick? He quickly tore through his things to retrieve the first letter, completing the whole sentence.

_If you ever get mauled by bears, I hope they stay away from your face, because I think you're cute._

Who the hell would write something like that? It had to be some sort of joke. And he really didn't need jokes right now. He was still extremely angry, frustrated, and hurt. He had never expected something like that to hit him, especially as hard as it did. Getting anonymous letters with stupid messages suggesting someone _else_ liked him did not make him happy. It made him even more frustrated and angry and hurt, completely opposite of what a normal person would feel upon getting a letter like that. Angrily ripping out of his robes and uniform, he forcefully jerked on a pair of pajama pants, not bothering with a shirt for once, and threw himself into bed.

A quiet "g'night Harry," drifted over from where Ron was half seated on his bed, observing his friend fume.

"Night," Harry said tersely, yanking his curtains closed a moment later and plunging his head onto his pillow, scowling at the crimson hangings.

Harry was still feeling angry as he walked to Potions the next day. It was the last day off classes before the Christmas holidays and most of the student population was buzzing with excitement, attention spans shot, and spirits high. Well, most of the spirits high. Ron had jolted up that morning with a yelp, causing Seamus to fall out of bed and Neville to star awake with such a look of shock Harry found himself almost laughing. Almost. Ron had apparently remembered he didn't have a date yet for the ball, which sent Harry straight back into being furious at Cedric. The whole thing came out to Ron and Hermione in hushed tones during breakfast. Hermione and Ron were extremely worried, Ron asking questions while Hermione spoke in gentle tones. Both of them were grating on Harry's nerves and, in clipped tones, he dismissed himself from the table.

Completely bypassing the fact that he was willingly walking to Potions, and early at that, Harry made his way down to the dungeons, frowning to himself and glaring at the cold walls. Though he really didn't want to think much about the Yule Ball at the moment, he couldn't help but remember Ron from that morning. It was getting late, and he, as of last night, did not have a date to the ball. Absently, he wondered if Cedric had gotten loose from the bonds the night before. As he was imagining Cedric, still bound and furious and hateful in the middle of a corridor waiting for someone to come rescue him, Harry mindlessly walked into the Potions classroom and set his bag down, habitually, on the desk he had most recently been occupying.

Which was currently occupied.

It took Harry a moment before he realized that someone else was already sitting on the bench, with their bag on the table, watching him with poorly hidden interest and apprehension. Choosing to say nothing and therefore divert awkward and spiked questions, Harry sat silently on the bench next to the other occupant, opening his Potions book and staring at the page.

"You know it's usually polite to greet someone when you come into contact with them," drawled the blond from beside him.

Harry continued to glower at the page, not looking at Malfoy. "Well then, since I haven't touched you yet I don't see why it's an issue." He really didn't feel like getting into a conversation at the moment, especially with Malfoy. Said Slytherin was currently remaining quiet, though Harry could still feel his eyes on him. He could ignore Malfoy. It was Malfoy, after all.

"Fine, don't deign to speak with me."

It baffled Harry how easily Malfoy seem to push his buttons and make him lose his resolve. Trying to keep himself in check, Harry swiftly turned to Malfoy, glaring harshly. "Would it be so difficult for you to, just for once, not be a complete and utter-" he began to grind out before trailing off.

Never in all of Harry's years of knowing Malfoy had the Slytherin ever looked as horrible as he did now. This was including after his forced transformation into a ferret. Harry found himself staring, open mouthed, at the Slytherin, who was in turn looking uncomfortable and disgruntled. Malfoy was paler than pale, with dark circles under his eyes. His usually impeccable hair was mussed and he was, unbelievably, slouching slightly.

"You look like shit."

Malfoy snorted. "Ever one for tact, Harry."

Harry stared at him. Malfoy stared back. "You called me Harry."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do believe you're called that. Unless you'd rather I call you Harriet or something equally grotesque."

"No," said Harry, frowning and shaking his head slightly. "I mean, you can't still be under that curse can you?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes again. "Well, what other reason would I have for calling you Harry?"

"You might be a masochist," Harry said, shrugging slightly. Malfoy grinned faintly, the action giving his face a less dead appearance. "Or it could just be habit by now."

"I would only call you Harry if I had good reason to," Malfoy said, turning to fidget with the books and quill on their desk.

"Like if I was dying?" Harry inflected, raising his eyebrow.

Malfoy smirked, the familiar action calming Harry down slightly. "If you were dying, I doubt I'd bother to call you by your given name."

The snide comments, usually able to incite Harrys fury so easily before, were beginning to calm his nerves amazingly. He grinned back at Malfoy. "True, Voldemort usually calls me Potter whenever I see him." Malfoy flinched slightly at the name and scowled, making his already pale worn features more pronounced and ghastly. Harry's grin widened at his expression. "You know, it's not like saying his name will summon him or anything." Malfoy glared. "He's not a house elf. He doesn't just appear when you call out his name."

Amazingly, Malfoy burst out laughing. Harry watched him in mild disbelief mixed with amusement as the blond attempted to get himself under control. "Only you would ever relate the Dark Lord to a House elf." Harry grinned in confirmation as the signs of laughter slowly melted from Malfoy's face.

"So tell me," Harry said, poking at his Potions book. "Why is it that you look like you've just been dragged through the forbidden forest during Halloween?"

Malfoy frowned and looked away. "I couldn't sleep last night," he said simply, his voice slightly tense as if he didn't want to further the topic.

Harry was never one for leaving things alone. "Was Goyle snoring?"

Malfoys eyes flickered over to Harry, who was watching him expectantly. "Goyle always snores."

"Well, shouldn't you be used to it by now then?"

Malfoy seemed to be getting frustrated. "Goyle's sleeping habits had nothing to do with me inability to sleep!" he snapped. Remembering the last few times when Malfoy had been tired, Harry was somewhat grateful for the fact that Malfoy wasn't delirious, or falling asleep on him.

"So what did keep you up?"

Malfoy said nothing, simply turned to stare absently at the blackboard. Harry wasn't exactly satisfied with this response. He glared for a while at the blond who determinedly ignored him. "Would you stop being a prat?"

"Why do you care?" Malfoy shot back.

"What's there to indicate I care?"

Malfoy gave him a pointed look. "You are currently inquiring as to the reason behind why one of your arch enemies has inadequate sleep the previous night. Thus, all facts lead to the indication that you care to some degree."

Harry stared at him for a moment, the words rolling about in his mind. Malfoy had a point. Why was he bothering to ask. He should just be wallowing in self pity and depression from the previous night, but he wasn't. He was asking about Malfoy's sleeping habits. In a concerned and amicable fashion. "Arch enemies," he said slowly, staring at Malfoy, who began looking slightly uncomfortable.

"What?"

Harry swallowed, the past weeks flashing through his mind. "I don't quite know if we would be classified as arch enemies." Malfoy said nothing, just stared at him, waiting. Harry watched him carefully for a moment. "I don't think arch enemies visit each other in the hospital wing, or disguise themselves as study partners, or have snowball fights, or," he paused, the impact of what he was saying beginning to weigh in his mind. "Or tell the truth about a bad relationship." Malfoy said nothing and sat motionless in his chair, staring at Harry as if expecting him to go into a violent emotional state. Harry watched him, studying his face. "I don't think that classifies arch enemies."

Malfoy swallowed, apparently willing himself to speak. "I'm sorry," he said, faintly, still motionless and tense, as if preparing to bolt for the door.

Harry was slightly taken aback. "Why?"

"About you and Diggory." Harry felt something clench in his stomach at the reference, but said nothing. It must have shown on his face though because Malfoy flushed slightly and looked away swiftly. "I didn't mean to burst in on you it was just-"

"Why did you tell me?" Harry asked, interrupting the blond and focusing his attention.

Malfoy seemed to fidget for a moment, apparently trying to avoid the question. "The curse-"

"You'd had the curse for a while before that," Harry interrupted again, staring hard at Malfoy. "You obviously knew for a while. Why didn't you tell me before then? Why did you tell me?"

Malfoy seemed to be waging an internal battle. His worn features were like a thin sheet over a shadow puppet play, his thoughts fighting and tumbling against each other. "I don't like Diggory," he said, making Harry scowl.

"I already knew that," Harry snapped, now getting slightly impatient.

Malfoy, however, seemed to snap. "What do you want me to say?" he snot back, his tired face clouding over with anger. "Do you want me to say I did it to make you miserable? To break up you and lover boy? Do you want me to tell you I did it because I've joined your fanclub? Because I couldn't bear to see you being used by that Hufflepuff? Because I care too much about you to see you get hurt even more later on? Or do you want me to say I was jealous because he was stealing all your attentions? Would you be satisfied if I told you my life revolved around you, that I need you around me all the time, that I can't have Diggory breaking you and stealing you away? What do you want?!"

Harry's head was ringing from Malfoys voice, all of his words rebounding and contorting into a chaos of emotion. He stared at the blond, who was currently glowering at him, breathing heavily through his nose as he recovered from his spirited outburst. Harry was silent, trying to keep his mind as all of what Malfoy has said began to sift and settle and suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

"Hermione's too smart for her own good," Harry said, staring in disbelief at Malfoy, whose look of apprehension shifted chaotically into confusion.

"What?"

"Now I get what she was talking about in all her references," Harry said, though mostly to himself as he watched Malfoy's face crease further into confusion before suddenly shifting to a form of realization and then resolution. "I feel stupid."

"I thought that's how you usually felt," Malfoy said, keeping his expression from wavering.

Harry, in spite of himself, grinned. "Yeah, but now I'm not using the term loosely."

Malfoy swallowed. "So now what?"

Harry thought for a split second before standing, grabbing his potions book and shoving it into his bag. Seeing Malfoy's face, which has suddenly shifted from absolute resolution as he watched Harry pack his things away, Harry grabbed Malfoy's bag as he hoisted his own over his shoulder. "Come on," he said, staring down at Malfoy, who looked back in disbelief. "We're skipping Potions."

Scowling slightly, Malfoy rose from his seat. "Where are we going exactly?"

Harry looked at him seriously. "To talk."

Malfoy paused a moment before he moved and followed Harry from the Potions room. Luckily, they didn't see Snape while walking, saving them from detention for skipping. Honestly, Harry could have cared less at this point. Nearing the entrance hall, however, they did run into Ron, who, catching sight of Harry, came running up to him, out of breath and grinning stupidly. He didn't seem to have noticed Malfoy.

"Harry!" the red head panted excitedly. "I've done it!"

Not wanting to cause a scene between Ron and Malfoy, should the blond be noticed, Harry feigned interested. "Did what, Ron?"

"Got us dates to the Yule Ball!" Ron said, beaming. Behind him, Harry heard a slight intake of breath. "I just asked Parvati if she and her sister would go with us and she said yes! We're not social rejects!"

"I'd still classify you as a social reject, Weasley," a drawling voice said from behind Harry, causing Ron's attention to shift.

Eyes widening, ears going red, and freckles popping, Ron's happy mood vanished almost instantly. "Malfoy!"

Having gotten rid of Ron, Harry was finally able to drag Malfoy into the now familiar empty classroom. It hadn't been easy. Ron seemed to find it his constant duty to despise Slytherins and Malfoy seemed to derive a sort of sick sadistic pleasure from goading Harry's best friend. Having sent Ron to Potions to tell Snape he was accompanying Malfoy to the Hospital wing for stomach pains, Harry carefully closed the door, his mind and body still buzzing with the mass of information accumulated in the past hour.

Turning, he faced Malfoy who was currently leaning against one of the desks, arms crossed, watching him with apprehension and a whisper of his old sneer. "Lucky you got a date so quickly, isn't it," he said, his sneer becoming more pronounced.

Harry didn't reply to this, instead saying calmly, "How long?"

Malfoy didn't say anything at first, holding his sneer for a moment before sighing and dropping his facade of nasty boy. "What does it matter?"

"How long," Harry repeated, watching Malfoy steadily.

Malfoy stared at him, silently, for a moment before dropping his arms and beginning to slowly walk towards him. "You didn't have a normal childhood, did you Potter." Harry said nothing as Malfoy continued, taking slow steps towards him. "If you did, you would have noticed something between kids, specifically young boys and girls. Unlike fantasies where everyone is nice to each other, young boys typically pick on and tease those they are interested in. They eventually grow out of this and act more like is expected, being nice and such, but that preliminary stage is pretty common." He stopped talking and walking about three feet in front of Harry.

Harry watched him, his eyes flashing between Malfoy's silver pools as they bore into him. "That long?"

"There are many reasons why I dislike you Potter," Malfoy said. "And that is one of them."

Harry laughed. "You know, I would never have put together the reason behind your constant taunting and life threats that you were infatuated."

Malfoy smirked, turning to the nearest desk and sinking down onto it. "Most of the time that was legitimate though," he said, watching Harry. "The wanting to kill you, I mean." Harry smirked. "It all just sort of changed though, progressively."

Harry watched him for a moment, taking in his form for what felt like the first time. "When did the curse actually wear off?"

Malfoy smirked again, his eyes drifting to one of the windows. "Sunday evening," he said. "You were already in the dorms though so there was no point in telling you."

"And then it, what, became an excuse?" Harry probed, wondering silently why he was having this conversation. Another part of him knew exactly why. Malfoy nodded. "And then Cedric."

Malfoy's eyes flashed back to Harry. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just, I was sick of seeing it and knowing the truth at the same time."

"Then why didn't you tell me in the first place?" Harry asked, firmly watching Malfoy.

"I thought it would be my chance to finally get over it," the blond said, his eyes slightly unfocused. "If you were taken, then I had to do something else." He smiled somewhat bitterly. "It didn't exactly work though." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching Harry closely. "So now you know, now what?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't know," he said honestly, looking out the window into the cold December air. "I'm angry with Cedric, upset still about the whole thing, dealing with personal realizations, suddenly have a date to the Ball, and just found out my once sworn enemy likes me." He smiled vaguely letting his gaze drift from the frosted window to the blond. "I'm pretty much waiting for this blow to hit I guess."

Malfoy watched him, his silver eyes calculating as they rover over his face. "Alright," he said, standing and picking up his bag.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as Malfoy made for the door.

"I'm going to my dormitory," the blond said, looking at Harry with a slightly dead look. "I'm tired and obviously not in class. Goodbye."

Harry said nothing, watching in slight disbelief as Malfoy left the room, silently. After a moment, Harry gathered up his things, left the room, and walked up to the Gryffindor dormitories. Dropping his bag on the floor of the fourth year dormitories, he let himself fall back onto his four poster, his mind and body abnormally numb from the day. He didn't know how long he lay there, but it had to have been hours, because when Ron finally did come in, he looked worried and ragged.

"Harry, where have you been?" Ron asked, dropping his bag and coming to stand over Harry's bed, staring down at his best friend.

"Isn't that a bit of a rhetorical question?" Harry asked, looking up at his red headed friend.

"Hermione and I were worried," Ron continued as if Harry hadn't said anything. Good old Ron. "You and Malfoy weren't in Potions and then when you both didn't show up to Care of Magical Creatures, we thought something might have happened. We checked the Hospital Wing but you weren't there, said you hadn't gone there at all." Ron frowned. "Care to let me know what's going on, mate? I feel like I barely see you and when I do, you're more upset than Percy over a shirt stain."

Harry was silent, Ron looking more and more apprehensive and anxious as he looked at his friend. Finally, Harry sat up, looking up at Ron.

"Malfoy likes me."

As soon as the words left his lips, the truth, reality, and shock of the whole matter came crashing down around him. Ron's visible reaction mimicked Harry's internal response. He turned bright red, ears blazing, jaw slack and mouth hanging open as he sputtered incoherently before finally latching onto that one necessary and all encompassing word.

"WHAT!"

And Harry's world turned upside down.

Cedric was a cheating, self interested playboy.

Malfoy was romantically interested in him and had been for years.

Harry was not as straight as he originally thought.

And he was taking Parvati Patil to the Yule Ball.

Ron began to flail about the room in a fit of physical expression, yelling disjointed words as he attempted to understand what was going on. Harry stared in shock at his bedside table, the corner of the most recent letter visible from the drawer. He suddenly recognized the handwriting. Eyes wide, he snatched the letter and read it again.

_If you ever get mauled by bears, I hope they stay away from your face, because I think you're cute._

"Holy shit!" he yelled, launching himself from his bed, past a confused and startled Ron in mid- rant about a certain blond Slytherin, and down the stairs of Gryffindor tower.

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! Holy shit I am so sorry everyone! This is soo incredibly late and I am incredibly guilty. Honestly, this chapter pretty much gave me hell to write and, coming back to college, basically all of my time was eaten and the first free afternoon I had finally came today. As for the next chapter, I can't give a definite time frame when it will be posted, though I will say that I will try to get it done within the next month. I am going to be trying to wrap up this story in the next few chapters. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed this!


	18. To Realize

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. Though I did get to go to the opening night of the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Museum of Science and sit in Hagrid's chair. **

Chapter 18: To Realize

Harry flew down the stairs from Gryffindor tower, the letters clutched tight in his hand as his feet pounded stone. His breath was ripping through his throat, making it almost raw with the exertion of trying to practically teleport to the opposite side of the school. He was skipping steps, leaping over railings, and making anyone he passed jerk out of his way and look like they'd just seen Peeves in a ball gown.

Not that Harry really noticed. He barely managed to stuff the letters into his robes pocket, the papers crumpling slightly. His mind was a complete mess, a chaos of things all tumbling together, fighting and contorting, save for one glaring fact.

Draco Malfoy liked him, and not in the way that Ron or Neville liked him.

And Harry needed to see him. Right now. He had no idea _why_ exactly he needed to see him, but if the consuming feeling in his chest and stomach were any indication, he didn't really need to know why.

Minutes later, Harry was streaking across the entrance hall, paying no attention to the other students as they scattered, yelling at him, as he sped through the passage leading to the dungeons. He was close, extremely close, the vivid memory of the entrance to the Slytherin common room burned across his mind, when he rounded a corner and slammed directly into someone.

This was no light matter either. At the velocity that Harry was moving, he would have been surprised if the other hadn't broken a limb. Or that he hadn't broken a limb. Groaning and making to scramble up from the floor, brain still screaming to get to Malfoy, Harry looked at who he had slammed into, and froze.

Sitting up opposite him was none other than the Slytherin girl who had met him just days ago as Davis Greenwood. Looking extremely shocked for a moment upon seeing him, Pansy Parkinson's face began to shift into recognition and then a third emotion. Harry didn't want to wait around for the third emotion from Pansy however, seeing as most likely it would be something extremely negative and bad for him in the long run. Scrambling to his feet, Harry bolted down the way he had come, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the Slytherin girl as possible before she was able to react.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Too bad he had only made it about twelve feet before being hit with her stunning spell. With a painful thud, Harry fell to the floor, frozen in place and eyes darting around fearfully. After a moment or two, Pansy came into view, looking slightly rumpled and annoyed as she looked down at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter?" she asked him, her tone commanding with a definite hint of amusement.

Luckily for Harry the combined incidents of running directly into a Slytherin and then being hexed worked wonders for his previously disorganized thought processes. Namely the fact that he had been rushing to the Slytherin common room, clearly as Harry Potter, the demand to speak with the prince of the house, who currently most people thought hated him. The probability of being cursed into one of Snape's nasty ingredient jars in such a situation was disturbingly high. If he were thinking logically, running into Pansy and being petrified by her was the luckiest thing for him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't thinking logically, especially since his current though process was something along the lines of 'Ohshitohshitohshitohshit she's going to kill me and present my body to Snape for extra house points ohshitohshit I'm totally screwed.'

Pansy leaned down to him, her face a foot away above him, smirking slightly. "Alright, Potter," she said, her dark hair falling about her pale face. "You've got two options." Harry internally perked at her words. "I'm going to have to release you from the spell eventually, at which point you have two options." She held up two fingers, as if to make sure he understood what numbers were. "You can either run off like a hufflepuff and ignore me in order to save your own skin." She smirked as his eyes flashed at her in indignation. "Or you can listen to me and chance that I wont hex you again."

Harry considered for a moment. Right now, he was currently helpless, lying on the ground in an extremely awkward position, vulnerable to Pansy if he wanted to further hex or curse him. Running away really didn't make much sense, considering if she wanted to hex him she could have done so without resistance. Then again, she was a Slytherin, and they could almost never be trusted. So logically running was the best thing to do in this situation.

However, before Harry had finished coming to a legitimate conclusion, Pansy had released him from the hex, letting his frozen limbs fall from their place awkwardly as Harry let out a groan. He looked up at her warily to see her waiting, smirk still on her features.

"Good choice," Pansy said, before swiftly grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet. With a yelp and a startles protest, Harry found himself being thrown into an all too familiar empty class room.

Hastily, Harry spun to face the Slytherin girl as she easily locked the door behind her, his wand drawn and looking extremely uncomfortable. Pansy sighed exasperatedly.

"Put that away, would you?" Pansy demanded, rolling her eyes at Harry's brandished wand. "I'm not going to duel you. That wouldn't solve my problems."

Harry snarled at her. "Expelliarmus!" Pansy half shrieked in annoyance as her wand flew from her hand, giving Harry an extremely agrivated look.

"Potter! Would you shut up!" Pansy snapped. "For Merlin's sake I'm not trying to kill you! God! I liked you so much better as Greenwood."

Harry's eyes, previously narrowed, opened wide, his grip on his wand loosening slightly as his jaw hung open stupidly. "What?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff. You think I didn't recognized you? Not even Draco's that good at glamours."

Harry swallowed, trying to process the information Pansy was telling him. "You knew I was Davis Greenwood?" She rolled her eyes again, obviously exasperated at his inability to process information at the speed of light. "Why didn't you do anything?"

Pansy gave him a patronizing look. "You really are thick, aren't you Potter," she stated, deadpanning to him. Harry scowled at her, as she sighed dramatically. "Draco is one of my best friends. You think I'd want a riot in Slytherin if I exposed the fact you were living there for three days? I may find you an arrogant and unobservant moron but I don't really want to see you massacred, especially in front of Draco."

"Wait a moment," Harry said, backing up slightly and looking at her in disbelief. "Am I to understand you're _helping _me?"

"No Potter," Pansy said sarcastically, waving a hand and once again rolling her eyes. "I'm doing everything in my power to make both my best friend and his retarded love interest as miserable as possible."

"That I'd believe," Harry grumbled, eyeing Pansy skeptically.

Pansy huffed angrily. "Look," she said, placing her hands on her hips, eerily similar to Hermione. "I'm sick of watching the two of you. It's like a giant seething ball of emotional and sexual frustration glooming about every time you two are around each other." Harry felt his stomach jolt. "I'm sick of watching him mope about and whine to me about his life. If you two don't work this out, I'm honestly going to kill you both."

Harry's mouth had gone dry. Malfoy_ moped_ about him? Whined about _him_? Since when was there constantly emotional, let alone _sexual _frustration? He was fourteen! He looked up at Pansy, feeling hesitant but determined. "What do you want me to do?"

Pansy threw her hands into the air. "Boys!" she yelled, once again reminding Harry vividly of Hermione. He absently wondered if the two of them had ever had an actual conversation and realized they were practically the same person. "I'm telling you I want you to go, talk to Draco, make him stop lying like a bubotuber on his bed, and finally get it into your heads you're _in love _with each other!"

Harry gaped at her. "I am not in lo-"

"Shut up," Pansy snapped at him, obviously annoyed. "Give me back my wand so I can turn you into Greenwood." Harry, still scowling though fully aware of the presented opportunity to get into Slytherin, slowly returned her wand to her. She snatched it back, huffing slightly, before directing it at him.

It was almost exactly as the previous time. Harry felt the familiar sensation roll over him as Pansy began to slowly disguise his features, changing his hair and eyes. Without much ceremony, she ripped his tie from his neck, roughly shoving it into his pocket before mussing with his hair. "Take off your glasses when we get to the common room. I'm not leading you like a blind man."

Harry said nothing, nodding slightly dumbstruck. As he was shoved unceremoniously from the empty class room, he turned to look at Pansy again, who was looking serious. "Why are you doing this? Really."

Pansy paused, her head snapping up as she was about to make her way to down the dungeons. At Harry's expression, her face softened slightly. She took a breath before smiling slightly. "Draco's one of my best friends," she began to explain, motioning that they should walk. Their pace was slow but steady, taking them down to the dungeons. "I used to love him, but in the end of second year, I realized he would never return my feelings. It was hard at first, and I hated you for it." Her eyes flickered to Harry for a moment. "But I got over it pretty fast, realized that he was more like my brother or something like that. And he was so miserable. Still is." She stopped walking for a moment, giving him a stern look. "I'm not saying I like you," she stated, eyes firm. "I hated you for how you hurt him, made him weak, for being stupid." Harry was about to respond but Pansy began walking again, cutting Harry off.

"But then this year happened," Pansy continued, her eyes softening as she glanced at Harry again. "And the two of you suddenly began to work. He was finally happy, beginning to let go of everything he was afraid of, finally being himself. He needs you, and, as much as you don't get it yet, you need him."

Harry felt like he was being lectured by Hermione, or Lupin, someone who was telling him things he should have noticed years before only now laid before him clearly. He said nothing as they walked up to the entrance to Slytherin. Pansy swiftly whispered the password, stepping through easily as Harry followed, hastily removing his glasses before coming into view of the large room.

Pansy continued to lead him, Harry barely able to keep up, his vision blurred terribly without his glasses. They crossed the common room easily, making for the dormitories. A few shouts rang out in the room, mostly to Pansy but one or two for Harry as he recognized the voices of Blaise calling for 'Greenwood' by the fire. Harry waved hastily in greeting as Pansy ignored the lot of them. Having entered the hall where the dorms were located, Pansy abruptly stopped, causing Harry to bump into her briefly, surprising him slightly.

Giving her a questioning look, Harry watched as the blurred figure of Pansy turned to him, her posture suggesting her seriousness. "Just one more thing," she said, her hand drifting to a door beside her, lightly grasping the handle. "If you screw things up, I will personally feed you to the Giant Squid." Harry was given no time to respond as she wrenched the door open and shoved him inside. Letting out a startled and undignified yelp, Harry stumbled into the room, snapping around as the door snapped shut behind him, the distinct click indicating the dark haired girl had locked it behind him.

Harry glared at the blurry outline of the door for a moment before he heard the sound of shifting fabric behind him. Praying to God that Pansy hadn't locked him in a room with Malfoy and someone else, Harry slowly turned around. Relief flooded him as he looked over the now familiar dormitory, the only figure present being a blond blob on the farthest bed, half propped on the four poster.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Malfoy demanded from his blobby spot on the blobby bed.

Harry sighed, raking a hand through his disguised hair as he dug in his pockets for his glasses, quickly slipping them onto his face. The room came into sharp focus, causing Harry to gasp.

It was almost exactly as Harry had remembered, except for one glaring factor. Malfoy's space, his bed, closet, trunk, bedside table, all of it, was completely trashed, like Peeves had decided to blow it up or something. The trunk was lying open on its side, the items strewn about on the floor haphazardly. The bedside table was missing the drawer, which was lying on the floor next to a few bottles of ink and broken quill. Papers, clothes, ink, quills, books, and all sorts of things littered the space around Malfoy's bed. The four poster itself was in a state of chaos, the sheets strewn about and tangled, the drapes flipped over themselves.

Malfoy was half lying on the bed, his arm propping himself up as he half glared at Harry across the room, one of his legs tangled in a sheet. He looked as bad as his things, face flushed and streaked, his clothes mussed and out of place, extremely unusual for the typically pristine Malfoy. His hair stuck up in all sorts of interesting directions, for once making Harry not quite so self conscious about his own black tangled mess. He looked like he'd either just been in a particularly energetic fight or been taking lessons from Professor Trelawney on fashion.

"It looks like Peeves just blew up your room," Harry said for lack of better words.

Malfoy continued to half glare at him, though his face flushed deeper at Harry's words. "What are you doing here?" he asked again, his eyes narrowing slightly as he remained immobile on the bed.

Harry swallowed, taking a step forward but pausing as Malfoy stiffened. Slowly and purposefully, he reached into his pocket, withdrawing the now crumpled letters from his pocket and watching as Malfoy's eyes flickered for a moment. "Why bears?" he asked, the words slipping from his mouth before he could stop them.

Malfoy blinked at him before finally letting his position change, his arm giving out beneath him as he flopped back down onto the bed. "Because if I said blast ended skrewts I wouldn't have been able to use the word 'maul'," Malfoy said, his usual haughty tone returning and clashing horribly with his disheveled appearance. Harry hesitantly took a few more steps toward Malfoy until he had entered the war zone, standing just at the outer edge of thrown items.

"Was the word 'maul' so necessary?" Harry asked, hoping to keep the conversation from being awkward, though, considering their situation, that was practically impossible.

Malfoy snorted, his chest jerking on the bed slightly. "I thought saying 'maim' or 'blast' wouldn't sound as humorous," he explained dully, his somewhat lifeless gray eyes fixed lazily on the ceiling. Seeing Malfoy so lifeless, surrounded by signs of chaos and destruction, left Harry slightly breathless. The image of a pure figure surrounded by devastation oddly appealing to him. The fact that Malfoy's white blond hair fanned around his face also didn't help the image to lose potency.

"Pansy dragged me in," Harry said softly, feeling that he might as well explain his presence.

Malfoys eyes flickered, his face remaining impassive though a slightly frown was evident. "Did she disguise you as well?"

Harry nodded. The same feeling was back. The feeling of comfort and familiarity with Malfoy. The feeling he had had when they had been in the snowball fight, the feeling from when they would talk, the sensation that they could be around each other and it was normal. It was right. Except, along with that feeling was the beginnings of the raging emotions he had felt up in the Gryffindor dormitories.

Malfoy liked him.

"What the hell," Harry suddenly spat out, feeling frustrated and trapped, not knowing what to do, not knowing how to feel, and overall completely confused. Malfoy's head jerked up, his eyes wide and slightly surprised. Harry found himself glaring at him, his emotions beginning to throb through him once again.

"Excuse me?" Malfoy said, his drawling tone stabbing into Harry like an electric charge.

Without thinking, Harry lunge onto the blond, straddling his hips as he gripped the wrinkled front of Malfoy's white shirt, bringing the blond closer to his now snarling face. "What the hell!" he almost shouted at the blond, delighting slightly at the flash of emotions over the blonds face, the spark of life making him feel alive. "I don't get it!" Harry snarled at him. "How can you suddenly like me? Suddenly break the pattern we've had for years!" Malfoy's eyes suddenly flashed in anger. "Why do you have to suddenly change! It was normal, it was constant. We hated each other. Why did you have to go and make things complicated."

Malfoy was glaring heatedly at him, his teeth bared slightly. Without warning, the blond's fist slammed into the side of Harry's face, causing the raven to roll off of him with a startled shout. Malfoy was sitting up, face furious and wand drawn, pointing directly at Harry who had fallen to the floor, glaring up at the blond.

"Going to hex me, Malfoy?" Harry spat, the familiar feeling of fighting with the blond leaving him thrilled and causing a gaping hole of pain in his stomach. They knew how to fight, how to hate each other, but it hurt now, seeing the blond's furious face directed at him. Somewhere, everything had changed.

Malfoy's scowl deepened as his grip around his wand tightened. "No," he said flatly before lowering his wand. Harry felt his heart skip as Malfoy sighed, his face falling slightly. "I'm tired of his, Potter," he said, his voice quieter as his eyes dropped. "I don't want to be fighting you all the time. I can't do it anymore."

Harry pushed himself to his feet, looking down at the blond, feeling slightly helpless. "Why?"

Malfoy snapped his head up to him, incredulous. "Are you seriously retarded?" he snapped, eyes flashing with hurt and anger. "That's like me asking you why you're the boy who lived! You can't change it, it just is that way!"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head, feeling frustrated. "I mean, why change this year? Why not keep being an ass hole and trying to ignore me?"

Malfoy looked slightly shocked before he pushed himself to stand, facing opposite Harry and looking defiant. "Because I don't want you to die," he said, voice level and serious as he looked steadily at Harry. Harry's surprise must have shown on his face because Malfoy sighed, running a hand through his already mussed hair. "Every other year, there hasn't been this much chance that you could actually, well, die. Sure, you almost did," he hastily added, seeing Harry open his mouth angrily. "But it's never been so constant. People have died in this tournament, and considering the way things have been moving, what with the world cup and other things, I realized that I could actually lose you."

Harry scowled. "Lose me?"

"You could die you idiot!" Malfoy snapped at him, eyes flashing menacingly. "Actually die! Not just the one moment when it's possible. It's a constant threat! It's not like first year, or second, where it was just one moment where a few people would know the truth. It's my constant reality." He huffed and turned from Harry, anger radiating off of his as he kicked through his strewn things. "I'm sick of being the Slytherin Prince. Of being the Malfoy heir. Of being the figurehead of purebloods and mini-death eaters. I'm sick of being your rival!" He spun on Harry, his face flashing with pent up aggression. "I don't want this to be my reality."

Malfoy kicked angrily at his trunk, causing the piece of luggage to jolt loudly against the floor. "I'm sick and tired of everything. Of my heritage. Of this school. Of my reputation. The stupid war, the stupid stigma, and, most importantly, of you!"

Harry felt his anger flair defensively. "What the hell have I done!"

"Nothing!" Malfoy shouted back at him, hands balled into fists. "That's my point!"

Harry gaped at him. "What do you expect me to do?" he snapped, his anger fueling the adrenalin pumping through his system, making him feel excited and thrilled, the angry flush on Malfoys face causing his skin to prickle. "Do you expect me to be buddy buddy with you? You've never really given me reason to trust you. And what, you expect me to just suddenly like you? To drop everything, after being betrayed once already, and tell you I don't want you be mauled by bears either?"

Malfoy was kicking his trunk again, fury flushing his face. "I don't know!" he shouted at Harry, eyes wild with frustration. "I don't know what I want right now!"

Harry was getting extremely frustrated. Without even thinking, he had lunged, punching Malfoy square in the stomach, causing the boy to grunt with pain, the next moment lashing out at Harry. It was unusual. Usually, the two of them never legitimately engaged in physical contact. Sure, they randomly threw punches, but the majority of their fights were threats, verbal battle, or magic. Trying to beat the living shit out of each other wasn't typically their forte.

But it felt so good. Each punch thrown and received only served to fuel the fire building in Harry's stomach, pounding through his veins. His jaw hurt from where Malfoy had punched him, bruises littering him that he knew would form later. Malfoy was fighting back, tooth and nail, his own anger flashing over his face.

Harry had never seen anything more captivating. Malfoy, usually so refined and uptight, perfect in appearance and poise, was suddenly alive, thrashing and striking, his face completely unrestrained as he fought with Harry. His grey eyes flashing angrily and excitedly as he bared his teeth.

But nothing lasts forever. After a good twenty minutes, both Harry and Malfoy were propped opposite each other, panting slightly, mussed, clothes ripped slightly, and looking extremely thrashed. Malfoy's lip was bleeding slightly, his hair completely wild, plastered across his flushed face. The collar of his shirt was hanging open, the top few buttons having been ripped off. Harry had a few cuts around his face, bleeding, and his glasses were, once again, broken. He could taste blood in his mouth and the knuckles on one of his hands was bleeding. His shirt had been pulled up oddly so many times he doubted it looked normal.

Still panting slightly, Malfoy leaned up, snatching his wand from his bed and directing it at Harry. Barely having the time to move, Malfoy had swiftly removed the glamour Harry had forgotten he still wore. The feeling of a light veil being lifted from him left Harry feeling slightly naked, bare before the blond who flopped back onto the floor, wand still clutched in his hand.

"You might as well repair my glasses as well," Harry panted out, scowling at Malfoy slightly.

Malfoy smirked, his mouth still parted slightly. "I thought we'd already established I liked watching you run into things." Harry tried hard not to let his mouth twitch at Malfoy's words as the blond, despite his statement, quickly repaired Harry's glasses. "You really do look much better when you're not Greenwood," Malfoy commented, his eyes flashing to Harry for a moment before resting on the floor between them.

Harry swallowed. The exhaustion from the fight had lessened the burning in his stomach slightly, but it slowly began to gnaw at him again. "Pansy knew I was Greenwood," he said, frowning slightly.

Malfoy snorted. "Not surprising," he said, running a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face. At Harry's look he sighed. "Pansy is like a sister to me. She notices stuff, much like Granger does for you, except she doesn't do it so everyone notices. Of course she'd realize you were Greenwood."

"Would the others realize I'm Greenwood?" Harry asked, the thought plaguing him slightly as he looked over at the blond.

Malfoy snorted. "I doubt it. Unfortunately, most Slytherin's do classify the stereotype and are not as bright as Pansy or myself just as most Gryffindor's do as well with the exception of Granger."

"Did you just recognize Hermione as intelligent?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow and wincing as it caused a cut to split back open. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Just because I recognized she's not as stupid as you doesn't mean I don't find her annoying beyond belief, Malfoy drawled, shooting a look over at Harry.

"So I'm stupid," Harry blanked.

Malfoy sighed and leaned back, propping himself on his arms so he lounged slightly on his floor before hissing and snatching his hand up. During their fight, they hadn't exactly been considerate of the surroundings. This meant that the majority of the items on the floor had been abused, especially the ink wells, causing ink to be smeared across the stone floor scattered with broken glass. Broken glass like what was now stuck in Malfoy's hand. Angrily, Malfoy sharply removed the offending shard from his hand before flinging it across the room.

"Sure, you're stupid," Malfoy spat, glaring at his hand which had begun to bleed. "Which doesn't say much for me, I suppose."

"How's that?" Harry asked, leaning against the bed opposite Malfoy's as he observed the blond. Harry wasn't unfamiliar with the sight of the blond. He saw the damn boy every day. But, seeing him here, completely open and raw, mussed from fighting and still volatile, Harry felt thrilled. It was like seeing Malfoy for the first time and the feeling of urgency that had thrummed through him as he had sped from Gryffindor about half an hour ago began to return.

Malfoy gave him a withering look. "It, by association, makes me stupid for-" He stopped himself, a light blush crossing his face.

"For liking me?" Harry finished for him, feeling the urgency and excitement begin to bubble once again in his stomach. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster, the blood flowing rapidly through his body.

"Yes, that," Malfoy said softly, looking away, his eyes tinged with sadness again.

Harry, however, after having entered the room and seen Malfoy, lifeless on the bed, his eyes dead, wasn't about to let the blond regress once again. Malfoy's head snapped back to Harry as the raven launched himself at the blond, effectively pushing him over, pinning him to the ground. Malfoy scowled at Harry, who was currently grinning, straddling the blond again, hands on either side of Malfoy's head.

"I don't think that's stupid," the Gryffindor said, smirking down at the blond, who was scowling.

"Yeah, well, you think dungbombs are funny," Malfoy said, scowl never leaving his face though his eyes were brighter, alive once more and Harry internally cheered for keeping them from their dead look.

"You're face is funny," Harry countered, pouting slightly at the blond beneath him. They weren't fighting, their previous anger and aggression having been spent at the rooms expense. They weren't bickering or glaring at each other. It was much like the day of the snowball fight, when Harry had the blond pinned at the end of the game, except, instead of simply wanting to win the game, Harry didn't want this to be a game. It was too intimate. It wasn't intimate in the way Harry and Cedric had been intimate.

With Cedric, Harry had felt like he was being taught, a small child led through the ropes by a controlling mentor. Except, instead of being taught how to ride a bike, Cedric had been abusing his mouth and decency. Harry didn't feel smaller, he didn't feel vulnerable, he didn't feel like following others rules. He wanted his own rules, and he wanted to make sure they were heard. Looking down at the blond below him, Harry felt a surge of emotion shoot through his limbs, burning into his skin at the sight of the blond splayed below him.

"My face is not funny," Malfoy snapped, scowling deeply, a slight pout decorating his pale lips. "In fact, my face is perfect."

Malfoy was different. Malfoy didn't try to control him, try to bend him to his will, manipulate his ignorance and hormonal desire for his own use. Malfoy didn't use his name for social or political purposes. For years, he had been the only one not to treat Harry like a hero, like a trophy, like a name to write down in your year book. It had been through relentless bullying, pestering, and teasing, but, as Harry looked back on it, he was the one who knew Harry the best. Malfoy knew all of the things that bothered him, all of the ways to get him to react, all of his past, his likes, dislikes. And Harry knew the majority of his as well. Save for the obvious one being his like of Harry, but no one was perfect.

This was unlike anything Harry had expected, to be sitting on top of Malfoy, pinning him to the floor, and realizing that, opposite what he had thought for years, the blond beneath him was probably the only person he knew that hadn't tried to use him. The only one who was real. With Cedric, he had thought he had found someone to finally like him for him, see who he really was and not just as a name. But in reality, he already had someone like that, he had just been too blind to see it.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, his voice softer as he looked down at the blond, whose forehead creased at the words.

"For calling my face funny or for pinning me to the ground?" Malfoy asked, frowning at Harry. "I could make a longer list but I'd need some parchment and for you to get off."

But Harry wasn't listening. His heart was pumping feverishly, heat beginning to pool over his body as he tried to keep his breath from catching. He should have been shocked, revolted, aghast at the fact that his arch rival for so many years was the only person who had actually seen and liked him for who he was, even if he did have a weird way of showing it. But he wasn't. Instead, he felt his heart clench at the thought, his skin prickle and stomach jolt. He recognized the feelings from when Cedric had lavished his attentions onto him, except this was different.

This wasn't just hormones. This wasn't just the thrill of being liked. Malfoy was frowning at him for Merlin's sake. This wasn't like the small crush he had on Cho, this wasn't the flip flop from seeing Fleur. This was real.

"Potter?" Malfoy asked, his frown still present, eyebrows drawn in concern as Harry remained over him, still keeping him pinned to the floor.

"Harry," Harry said, his voice softer and, surprising even himself, slightly husky.

Malfoy's eyes shot wide at the Gryffindor. "What?"

"That is my name after all," Harry said, grinning slightly as his mind began to shut down. He had been thinking too much, his thoughts racing since this whole thing began. Since Cedric, since Malfoy, since the Tournament. And so, for once, Harry didn't think as he leaned down and pressed his lips to Malfoy's startled mouth, his grey eyes wide as Harry's slipped closed.

A/N: These chapters are KILLING me. I honestly had to rewrite this four times before it worked properly. UGH! I've been doing so much work on all my stories, this, THO, and my other newer stuff which will be posted when this is done. There is probably going to be only one or two more chapters after this one, so, even if you're sad, yes, the story is almost over. I know it's been forever, but I swear this will be updated soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!


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